Some women’s rights activists are calling to ban Saudi Arabia and Brunei from the Olympics—unless they
start allowing women to participate. Right now, Saudi Arabia and Brunei are the only two countries
that forbid women from competing in the Olympics. The two countries justify the
ban on the grounds that some conservative Muslims see women’s sports as a sin.
But, since every other Muslim sends
women to the Olympics, this view on female athletes is clearly not endemic to
Islam. As a blogger at Muslimah Media Watch notes, “Considering that most
Muslim countries allow women to participate, Saudi
Arabia and Brun have no excuse to exclude
women, other than misogyny of course. And in the meantime, all Muslims will
once again be labeled as misogynist.”
Some activists within Saudi Arabia, such as Wajeha Al-Huwaider, have started a grassroots movement to end the ban on female participation.
Do you think that Saudi Arabia and Brunei should be banned from the Olympics until they allow women to participate, or would such a move be a denial of religious freedom?
Photo: Jezebel
