Female soccer players in Egypt
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
This video from AlJazeera is pretty interesting. (Thanks solmij!) It’s about the growing number of women in Egypt playing professional soccer, despite social and religious restrictions. From the description:
The women’s game in the Middle East has been getting more popular and more respected, despite criticisms from conservative quarters who don’t like the idea of women on the playing fields.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
derek wrote:
Much respect to those sisters.
As a man, I feel embarrassed to hear those brothers say those things…without women, our society can’t perpetuate. Without men, women cannot proceed. We need each other, we have to protect and respect each other as equals. When we buy into the women can’t do this or that, negativity wins.
Posted 28 Aug 2007 at 3:15 pm ¶
latinamericanprinces wrote:
This makes me think of the ameri-centric discussion that occurred recently on racialicious. I’d like to extend the criticism to Euro-centric. The images on Western media always portray other countries as backward. But items like this show progress in other countries. They make their own progress in their own way.
I mean about the boys who said women belong in the home, well there are plenty of American and European men who still say the same.
For example, in The Netherlands they see themselves as so progressive and advanced, yet only 6% of tenured professors are women, compared to Turkey where it’s 30%. Also on the news last night they reported on the Dutch women’s soccer team, which is struggling to make it to the World Cup, because there is no professional women’s soccer here and they can’t compete as well on the international level.
Posted 29 Aug 2007 at 5:35 am ¶
S wrote:
I LOVED it when one of the women said “I do what I want”. Classic! I would love to see them play in a world championship – without head scarves. There’s too much focus on women and what they shouldn’t be doing. It’s soccer, for God’s sake; it’t not like they are doing flips and showing their underpants!
Posted 30 Aug 2007 at 5:17 pm ¶
latinamericanprinces wrote:
Why without headscarves? If that’s what they choose to wear? Shame on the media for turning a garment into a circus. S – aren’t you also telling them what they shouldn’t be doing now? They can dress as they please as far as I’m concerned.
Posted 31 Aug 2007 at 8:41 am ¶