Banning women from stadia: Excuses to justify deficiency

Banning women from stadia: Excuses to justify deficiency

November 24, 2015
ki06
ki06

Qenan Al-Ghamdi
Al-Watan

What’s the difference between horse racing and other audience-based tournaments and most importantly soccer? They’re all sports anyway and horses have many fans, followers and audiences. In the West, horse racing has its big market for gambling that could reach millions of dollars. Horse prices here and around the world could hit numbers that are higher than those paid for professional players. These, of course, are undeniable facts.

The other truth, which is publicly well known, is that horse racing started in the Kingdom since it was established by the founder (may Allah bless his soul). Men and women were present at racing stadiums. In fact until recently, before the modern stadiums were built, families used to bring their picnic needs like blankets, tea, coffee and water and sit on the sides of the racing tracks to watch the events on the field.

After constructing new arenas special sections were designated for females. Entering and exiting is done in accordance with very precise arrangements. We haven’t heard or read about any problems at all. On the other hand, the General Presidency of Youth Welfare works hard to abide by an old dictat to sports managers affirming that women, even young girls, are prohibited from entering any stadium. I don’t know a religious, logical or even social reason for this ban.

And before anyone pulls up the sign of “privacy” in my face, I say that all soccer fields and other sports stadiums are prepared and ready to designate a gate or multiple gates for women. They could have their own seats and areas just like what happens in equestrian clubs in the Kingdom. These areas could be further separated with partitions from the sides.

So what seems to be the problem when a woman enters from a special gate and sits in the women’s area? Does not that fulfill our “privacy” needs? In addition, all stadiums are equipped with surveillance cameras that don’t miss anything at all. So whoever wants to wear the niqab or cover their face can do so without worrying about “cameras”. And whoever wants to uncover their face are okay too because they do so on the road, at the shopping mall and during the book fair. In fact, all these women already mix with men at book fairs, in shopping malls, at parks and at the Two Holy Mosques and everywhere. Did you ever hear or read about someone violating another? Except for very rare cases that won’t be combated without a strict harassment law and surveillance cameras that observe and security forces that implement.

Banning women from sports stadiums does not have a justification — as I said — not religiously nor logically or socially. Above all, it is actually women’s rights to have access to these spaces. Even in the face of our “privacy” that most of the time we cannot justify, no contradiction exists.

Based on all of this, we should not blame the world that criticizes us through human rights organizations or ridicules us about women’s rights. We can’t really respond to their criticism or blaming or sarcasm. We only have the word cliché to describe our “privacy” that is unconvincing. But if we wanted solutions to translate this “privacy” into action they are very much so available and easy. But we don’t want to and we always find excuses to justify our inability to use our brains or understand the reality of our religion!


November 24, 2015
HIGHLIGHTS