Interesting Reuters piece making its way around the world. It’s about how women from various Islamic countries, taking part in the Olympics, are dealing with the issue of modesty. The article is a bit messy in the way it slips around usage of terms like ‘veil’ (niqba) and ‘hijab’, but the meaning comes through.

And no, no Saudi women are taking part in the Olympics, of course. According to the current religious understanding of the role of women in sports, there is no role.

As an aside, I’ll note that as of this writing, the only Arab to have won a medal is Algeria’s Soraya Haddad, with a Bronze medal in Judo! Nope, women are clearly not competent to compete in sports…

Veiled Athletes Challenge Stereotypes In Beijing

BEIJING (Reuters) – The women in Roqaya Al Ghasara’s home town in Bahrain are so proud of their pioneering Olympic sprinter that some of them got together to design and sew a set of tailor-made aerodynamic veils for her to run in.

Egyptian fencer Shaimaa El Gammal, a third-timer at the Olympics, will don Islamic headgear in Beijing for the first time. She says it is a sign she is come of age and she feels more empowered than ever.

This year’s Games will see a sizable sprinkling of veiled athletes who are determined to avoid offending devout Muslims back home while showing skimpily dressed rivals there is nothing constricting about wearing “hijab.”

Two of them, Bahrain’s Al Ghasara and veiled Iranian rower Homa Hosseini, won the honor of being flag bearers for their countries at the opening ceremony’s parade of athletes.

“The hijab has never been a problem for me. In Bahrain you grow up with it,” said Al Ghasara, wearing a white baseball cap over a black veil that covers her hair and neck. Her baggy running gear exposes only her face and hands.
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