Saudi Arabia Women Will Compete In London Olympics

Saudi Arabia Women Will Compete In London Olympics

A breakthrough for Saudi Arabia women athletes is about to happen as they decided to compete in the Olympics for the first time ever in London this summer, the Islamic kingdom's London embassy announced on Sunday.

Human rights groups had alarmed the International Olympic Committee to prevent Saudi Arabia from competing in London, citing its failure ever to send a woman athlete to a Games and its infamous ban on sports in girls' state schools.

Powerful Muslim clerics in the conservative state have repeatedly warned against the participation of women in any sports.

Women in Saudi Arabia hold a lower legal status to men.  They are banned from driving and need a male guardian's permission to travel, work or even open a bank account.

Under King Abdullah, however, the government has pushed for women to have better education and work opportunities and allowed them to vote in future municipal elections, the only public polls held in the kingdom.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking forward to its complete participation in the London 2012 Olympic Games through the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, which will oversee the participation of women athletes who can qualify for the games," said a statement published on the embassy website.

In April, the head of the kingdom's General Presidency of Youth Welfare, the body that regulates sports in Saudi Arabia, said it would not prevent women from competing but that they would not have official government endorsement.

Physical education is banned in girls' state schools in Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom’s only female deputy minister, Noura al-Fayez, has written to Human Rights Watch saying there is a plan to introduce it.

The most likely woman candidate to compete under the Saudi flag in London is equestrian Dalma Malhas, who represented the kingdom at the junior Olympics in Singapore in 2010, but gained no official support or recognition.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday June 26 2012, 7:36 AM EDT. Ref: GOOGLE. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0