Brook M. brought our attention to Al Jazeera’s English-language coverage of Arab women athletes training for the 2008 Olympics. They include a Moroccan runner, Israeli Arab boxers, a Qatar race-car driver, and Egyptian soccer players. Among other topics, the segments address opposition the women have faced being female Arab Muslims in sports, especially concerning their clothing. The first segment is about 11 minutes long; the second one is about 12 and a half.
One thing I like about these videos is they show the diversity of Arab Muslim women, a group often depicted as a homogeneous, passive, subordinate group all wearing veils. Some of the women in the clips do not cover their hair while some wear hijab. Among those who wear hijab, some cover every bit of their hair, others do not; some head scarves are lace and fairly transparent, while others are dark and solid. The women talk about how they feel about mixing religion and sports and being female athletes, and again, they differ in their perspectives.
While the sports element is interesting, seeing the diversity among Arab women, as well as Arab women actively discussing religion and resisting gender roles, may be very useful for students who usually encounter portrayals of Arab women as completely oppressed victims of a sexist culture/religion, so I can imagine using it in classes that aren’t about sports.
Thanks, Brook M.!
Comments 3
Mariana — June 15, 2008
Just becasue men let these women do sports doesn´t mean it isn sexist and still oppressed victims of their culture! Should they say thank you, for letting them use fairly transparent scarves?
Anonymous — June 15, 2008
Mariana, you might want to check out the book "Politics of Piety" by Saba Mahmood (an anthropologist at UC Berkeley). She writes about women who participate in the Islamic movement in Egypt (sometimes even despite their husbands' protest) and how this participation is agentive. Her argument is that this is not the agency that traditional/Western feminism looks for -- resistance -- but rather a move that makes sense in that particular cultural context -- exemplification of the pious role.
My point is that what works for us does not always work for others. This is not to say that there are not Muslim women who feel oppressed by these traditions, but rather to say that there are probably many who do not feel oppressed or embrace it. This can be seen in the clips, where women are discussing acceptance of and difficulties with their being female and athletes. The women are looking for (and many have found) a way of being a Muslim *and* an athlete, and they do so in a variety of ways. Note that they are not questioning being a Muslim or, in many cases, the role of woman as wife and mother. There is diversity; some of these women are struggling to be accepted and some have found little trouble with that acceptance.
I think that part of what Gwen is saying is that this report can speak to people who have a knee-jerk reaction of "Muslim = holy crap, uniform oppression of women!!1!" by showing that there is diversity in how this religion is experienced in everyday life. It is not all the veil being forced upon them by evil male overlords (though it can be, as in the "Persepolis" graphic novels). There is a religious aspect to its wear (such as how the Quran is interpreted), as well as an aspect of fashion (just like with our clothes).
Sociological Images » ATTITUDES TOWARD HIJAB — September 7, 2008
[...] other posts about hijab and other issues concerning Muslim women’s clothing, see here, here, here, here, and here. Also see these images of advice on modest clothing at Brigham Young [...]