[wvns] Muslim Women Boxers Emerge
Muslim women head to head, hijab to hijab
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/11/02/boxing/index.html
A new saying could start circulating among Middle Eastern boxing
rings: Float like a burqa, sting like a bee.
OK, Muslim women aren't exactly boxing in burqas, but they are
knocking each other out in the ring while wearing hijabs. The Age
reports that women's boxing has emerged in certain Middle Eastern
countries -- like Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.
Keep in mind, though, that women's boxing in the Middle East hasn't
arisen because of changing attitudes toward women but because of
changing sporting standards -- a country cannot enter male boxers into
Olympic competitions unless it has a women's team in the same sport.
It's plain to see that cultural attitudes haven't shifted along with
Olympic standards. The four female Jordanian boxers profiled by the
Age are not of the Muslim mainstream; three are Muslims of African
descent, and one is a Christian. They're also members of the police
force to begin with, so it's not as though boxing has become the
workout of choice for Middle Eastern housewives. These scrappy sisters
also face ringside disapproval: The Age quotes Ayman Awat, a male
Jordanian boxer, who says, "I don't agree with this at all. It's a
physical thing. They shouldn't fight, they should stay at home. A
woman should be a lady."
The cultural significance of this emerging sport shouldn't be
overstated, but it does seem worth celebrating when hearing these
women talk about their supportive fiancés and fathers -- one woman
impressed her pop by punching him in the shoulder to demonstrate her
strength.
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