Riyadh probes 'illegal' girls' sports

Tue Dec 21, 2010

Saudi Arabia's ministry of education is investigating private girls' high schools for holding what it described as an "illegal" sports tournament.

In an unprecedented event on December 8, some 200 female students from six private high schools in the city of Jeddah broke ministry rules against girls' sports in schools, AFP quoted a report by the Saudi daily Arab News as saying on Tuesday.

"We don't have any regulations that say that it's okay for girls' schools to hold sports classes or training," said Ahmed Al-Zahrani, director of girls' education in Jeddah.

"This tournament was held by these schools, something that has now led us to know about their illegal activities," he said.

The tournament in question was hosted by the private Effat University and included basketball, badminton, swimming and athletics.

"I was surprised to receive a letter from the Ministry of Education questioning me about the competition and the reason why it was held in the first place," said Farida Farsi, who chairs al-Hamra Schools.

"I also received a huge number of letters and telephone calls from conservative Saudi men and sheikhs who said that I should've known better and advised me not to hold such competitions in the future because it's not lady-like," she said.

In Saudi Arabia, only a few private women's clubs and universities offer sporting possibilities and sports are prohibited at primary and secondary schools for girls. Women are also barred from joining the Saudi Olympics team.

Rules and regulations governing life within the Kingdom are dictated and enforced by Wahhabi extremists, whose dark record of human rights violations -- especially the rights of women -- are regularly criticized.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156455.html.