The first Saudi female soccer team, Congratulation!
Written by Haitham Sabbah on 25. January 2008, 2004hrs // Part of Haitham Sabbah's adventure in Breaking News, Good News, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, Sport // Other posts by Haitham Sabbah
On behalf of the Palestinian soccer fans and the Palestinian National Women Football team, I would like to congratulate the first Saudi female soccer team.
The first soccer match between female teams has taken place in Alkhobbar (Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province). The match was held between two teams of university students. The Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University team defeated their guests, the Al Yamamah College.
Although the match was held at a 35,000 capacity stadium in al-Dammam, no men were allowed in the stadium, and the referee and her linesman, as well as the fans, were also female.
Looks like the tied is changing -slowly- in Saudi Arabia. Few days ago there were news about allowing Saudi females to drive their cars (next day a lady was arrested for driving!), then Saudi Arabia eases rules for women to stay in hotels alone, today they are playing football, that is great and hoping to grant women more rights in Saudi.
[Source: Iqbal Tamimi - Palestinian Mothers]
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January 25th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Hey guess what, does any one here have any idea how many Saudi women drive outside KSA? Well I’ll tell you, MANY, they come here as students in the US and what do you know, they get their licenses and DRIVE!! Then they get to go back home and have to wait on a driver to take them everywhere.
The woman arrested two days ago was a foreigner who claimed after so many years of not driving you lose the skill to drive and the police released her with a warning not to drive again. Welllllll, all those SAUDI women who drive while abroad have the same argument don’t they? Personally, having lived in KSA way back when, I know from experience you are taking your life in your own hands any time you get on the roads there. Needless to say now you might encounter some of those crazy car skaters or street drifters which were posted here a while back. So ladies, GOOD LUCK, that article says you might be granted the right to drive by the end of the year. (Maybe some football-[as in American football]- helmets should be donned for mere safety’s sake when you have to drive in traffic with all those CRAZY RECKLESS macho males)
And all you woman soccer players, MABRUK!!
January 26th, 2008 at 4:21 am
Hopefully in 300 years they’ll be allowed to travel outside the country without their husband’s permisssion (oops maybeI’m just talking about Jordan)
January 27th, 2008 at 2:14 am
Iraqi women have been driving since the late 50s , and one of the the Directors of the Baghdad Museum was a woman in her 60s with a PHD in Archeology . (Saudi allowed women to study only in the 80s ) So saudi women do need a push for Freedom , will America help ??
January 27th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Fatima,
Saudi women have been studying in the university outside KSA for a lot longer than since the 80’s, believe me when women’s universities were opened in KSA. In fact, the Saudi government paid for them to study abroad. In 1975 (and before), many Saudi female students were at AUB, then when the civil war broke out the government found them other places to go which were safe. A group of Saudi women students went to University of Oregon at Eugene at that time, as well as other schools. That was in 1977. Currently, according to public information, 70% of all Saudi university students are females. The problem is that there are only certain jobs in which women can work. Or maybe you are are an independent business woman which owns her own business in KSA,of which there are many. Believe me, with all the misunderstanding about women in KSA, alot of stereotyping goes on which simply is NOT true.
January 27th, 2008 at 3:36 am
saudi women need 2 help themselves. nobody else is going 2 stick their necks out for ya—neither the americans nor da europeans, since their addicted like hell 2 ur oil, neither da UN or human rite groups though they may once a while bitch and moan, nor most of ur men who r hypocrites and suppressive by nature. its a shame though that saudi women from the upper class dont care about their middle class and poor saudi sisters who r about 95% of da saudi population. those few rich saudi women r addicted 2 the lavish and rich lifestyle and wont endagner their status for most of u women—get out on da streets and politely but firmly demand for ur rites—it will be rough and tough in da beginning and there may be some blood spilled on da streets but if u want 2 change ur status quo then u must be prepared to give sacrifices, otherwise just sit at home and accept ur fate since Allah will not change ur fate unless u act and demand for ur rites. other than that, if u have enough money, immigrate 2 canada or australia where at least u will live a decent life.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Please read Zani http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DE1739F934A35752C1A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Look at the year that occurred, 1990. I know one of the women, she like Most of them WERE from prominent Saudi families. She DID lose her job as a professor at the women’s university in Riyadh and was on house arrest for a long time. I don’t know what happened to the others, but that is what happened to her, and her father backed her all the way.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:06 am
Islam And The West Accelerated Links For 27 Januar…
Haitham Sabbah on the first Saudi women’s soccer team….
January 28th, 2008 at 2:40 am
with due respect robin, i was in da kingdom when that incident happened, though i was in a different city, and at that time, it was considered a big thing then—however now in 2008 over a decade and half later, what is da status of da average saudi woman? its even worse—just 2 days ago, i heard that now woman will b able 2 check in hotels without a male—o geez what a big step—-everybody knows that saudi women still have no real rites as this qatif girl case proved, not 2 mention that makkah fire incident in which two dozen saudi girls died a few yrs ago becuz those bearded imbeciles wouldnt let firefighters enter da premises of da school—so lets look at things from a proper perspective.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Zani,
I think maybe you misunderstood me. The reason why I brought up the Riyadh women’s driving incident is precisely because it took place so long ago and NOTHING has changed since. In fact in many ways, as you very correctly stated, things have gotten worse. Women didn’t use to have to get their husband’s permission for traveling when I was there in the seventies. Many women I knew, particularly in the Eastern Provence did not wear habayas, only long modest dresses. Those educated women back then DID want to change things for the better and have been unable to. I agree with you Zani, but even more, there ARE educated Saudi males who know better than to put up with this, who very much allow their wives and daughters freedom outside KSA and then don’t do diddly squat about the conditions IN KSA. I don’t know how many times I have heard, “These things take time”. It’s a very very complicated issue Zani. I know.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:30 am
I really think that women should have the same rights as man do because on the end of the day all of us are made out of fleshand blod, and according to me we should be equal. So why women souldn’t play soccer or shouldn’t drive? I mean… Come on, we live in the 21th century and I really think that we should start getting used to it. I think that the more things one bands to a woman, the more she will do the oposite. It’s simply human’s nature.
Take care.