The Muslim News - British Muslim women to compete in international games

Issue 148, Friday 31 August 2001 - 12 Jumad al-Akhbar 1420

British Muslim women to compete in international games

By Sarah Sheriff

For the first time, the third Islamic Countries Women's Games to be held in October 2001 will feature a team from the West; and it will be from Britain.
On August 5, approximately 70 young Muslim women accepted the invitation of The Muslim News to attend a qualifying Games at which a team would be selected. The Muslim News had been asked in March this year to organise a selection process so that a Muslim team from Britain would participate. The Qualifying Games was widely advertised through The Muslim News, women's organisations and associations including national bodies like the Islamic Society of Britain.
The Games were held in a Sports Centre in Aldenham, Hertfordshire, just north of London and the young women competed in Futsal (5-A-side Football), Basketball, Badminton, Table-Tennis, a selection of track events, Swimming, Fencing, Shooting, Taekwendo and Tennis. Understandably, great enthusiasm rather than skill and technique, characterised a lot of the performances and in very few disciplines were the qualifying marks achieved. This was judged by experienced female coaches and trainers brought in by the organisers from game bodies such as the Women's Football Association and the Table-Tennis Federation. It was agreed that with coaching support many of the young women competing could easily come closer to the qualifying standards expected by the International Games' organisers, however due to the lack of time to prepare the budding international sports women, it has been decided that Britain's team will consist of players in just two disciplines this time: Badminton and Futsal. Fifteen footballers and 18 badminton players have been selected and there will be a second round of competition on September 1, to whittle the teams down to the mandatory size of 12 and 7 required by the international Games organisers.
The organisation of the Games has highlighted the lack of sensitivity to the concerns of women with an enthusiasm for sport by mainstream providers. Many of the women participating spoke of their unease at playing in local clubs and leagues because of problems over dress or the yobbish behaviour of non-Muslim team mates. Amra Bone, who travelled from Coventry to compete in the Badminton competition said, “I used to be very sporty and play in university competitions. I had been active in sports when I lived in Muslim countries, but there hasn't been appropriate opportunities here. I was pleasantly surprised by the standards of play at the Games”. Amra is one of the women selected to advance to the second round of Qualifiers and hopes to represent Britain in the Badminton competition.
The Games have also highlighted the apathy and ambivalent attitude to women's participation in sports by the Muslim community itself. Potential participants complained about lack of support for their involvement by male members of the family (causing withdrawals at the last minute) and in other communities, the idea of women continuing in sport beyond school was culturally frowned upon in some areas. Indeed, some girls are withdrawn from certain sports whilst still at school. “The role of sports in good physical and mental health is something well known to health professionals as well as in Islamic teachings so this is very sad state of affairs”, said State Registered Dietician, Nuzhat Ali.
Speaking about her hopes for the Games as a vehicle for raising the profile of sports in the Muslim community, a Games organiser said, “We hope that next time the British Muslim community is invited to send participants to the Islamic Countries Games, there will be enough interest from young women in a range of disciplines that we can send a larger team which can compete in a wider variety of sports. There are many Muslim women and girls with an interest in sports and this needs to be recognised and catered for”. This view was shared by Jalila Siddiqui of An Nisa Slough Muslim Women's Group, which sent a group to participate in the Games. “We did a survey amongst women in Slough and found there was a great interest in sporting activities. Over 100 women attended a swimming session which the Local Authority paid for. There is a massive need for sport development amongst the minority communities and especially the Muslim community,” she said.

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