The fact that she had already played two games
that day with the hijab or that girl teams in all Muslim countries have players who also wear the hijab also exist isn’t the issue being argued. The issue is how far can one referee go in their interpretation against issues of religion or other personal identity. Asmaham’s mother, who does not wear the Hijab (it is Asmaham’s choice), feels it was an issue of discrimination, regardless that the referee who made the call was Muslim himself.Today the FIFA ruled that the referee was correct because Law 4 on equipment “restricts a player's kit to the use of shirt or jersey, shorts, socks and footwear.” Which I have to say in my experience of small and large discrimination isn’t a surprise; individual makes decision which is tainted by what is in their own mind and then giant organization finds way to support them.
First, this is GIRL’S soccer. So we know right off that the
FIFA isn’t going to enforce it’s policy because many girls out there will be wearing all forms of headgear in order to keep their hair back. The ref did not go and collect all the scrunchies and hair-bands. Also as we see in this picture of a typical girl’s competitive soccer team, there will be people wearing sweat bands and wrist bands, people wearing watches, braces, and some goalies wear brims to see the ball when against the sun. Indeed, you can scan and MANY things that are merely a shirt, shorts, socks and footwear.Yes, but the Hijab could be a danger to the girl herself, if it is grabbed? Well except that there are “sport” Hijab with Velcro that simply come apart if pulled. The Canadian association’s memo has previously stated that it allows “"non-basic equipment" as long as it isn't dangerous”
Plainly, girl’s soccer is going to be a little different than FIFA men’s soccer; like scrunchies and breast protectors. And, when trying to encourage more females into sports, how far should one go for inclusion? Farther than this, is my belief. To me, this would be the same as in a large soccer tournament of 18 year old females having the one visibly out lesbian told she must remove her rainbow wrist band for “safety reasons.” Could the ref get away with singling a person out because of what was going on in their head? As the FIFA shows, yes. But is it right? I think simply because it isn’t our religion or that it is a practice we disagree or feel unsure about we shouldn’t evade the question? Other figures have come out to say, “Well, if I was a Christian, I would be asked to take off my cross” – yes, except that a) the jewelry rules all well known and b) nothing in Christianity requires a person to have a cross necklace; if they need a cross on them, they are free to magic marker it on their skin or sew it quite legally into their shoes (or have it on their socks).
This interests me because Asmaham is just the type of girl that women’s sports are trying to create. She wants to play, she wants to integrate sports into part of who she is as a female and use it in helping her understand herself in her gender AND her culture. Now that opportunity has been taken away; and why? Because someone really believes that a tear-away hijab is a serious danger to other players? Or because the west, and FIFA feels in its gut that maybe a visual muslim female head symbol IS a place where a stand must be made, and defended lest.....lest.....lest......a 11 year old openly muslim girl’s play soccer?
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7 comments:
I find this a much more encouraging story about women's football: http://www.lastkick.com/?p=988
I don't know how the Iranian women feel about the football outfits they have to wear but it seems quite clear they and their fans love football, and I'm glad they got a good match on equal terms with their German opponents. Their exploits as good footballers may change many views on Muslim women. While the clothing may seem a bit much, I recall the discomfort of enduring male reactions to the short tunics that were compulsory for girls' sports when I was at school.
It's outrageous to stop a girl playing because she's wearing a hijab.
(This may be of interest too: http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/sporting_the_hijab.shtml
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Thanks Kathz, a very interesting story with the german team against the Iranian women's team - seems like the point was to find a meeting point where soccer/football could be played and enjoyed - sadly, that no longer seems the point in this case (or many "last stands" particularly against the clothes of different muslim women.)
Hi Beth.
Hi sober.
To be honest it sounds just like an over-eager (or dickhead, depending on your point of view) referee more than anything else. Like you say if this were Chelsea versus Milan at the San Siro there might be more of a fuss made about specific headgear/clothing but in a youth football match how much should it matter? I really don't see what danger could be caused by the hijab to either the girl OR the other players.
I don't think that FIFA are sexist/racist (at least in this case ... in other cases it's a different story ENTIRELY) or whatever, I think it's more a case of bureaucracy. You have to have vague rules to allow flexibility but then that leaves them open to interpretation.
In this case i think that it was just bad judgment on the part of the ref. That said it's probably a good thing that this problem has arisen because it means that more women and more muslims are taking part.
I came by your blog looking for soccer blogs on Blogger. This is quite an interesting subject. As a referee, I know for a fact that the Laws of the Game do not mention any differences in the treatment of players based on sex. In general, items that are not part of the basic kit are allowed if they serve some purpose and are not HARD, ie plastic, ceramic, etc. In this case, I would have allowed the young lady to play.
Thanks for the comment - I think the FIFA will at some point (hopefully soon) have to address the diversity within soccer/football - because while there may not be league which includes both genders, more and more females are playing the game and like Fencing, certain rules need to address this (along with relgion, etc) - for example, technically, due to a "cup requirement" which was created for guys but doesn't define sex requirements - female fencers could be required to have a genital "cup protector" - which is absurd, but they have put on mandatory breast protector rules for most matches - which makes sense.
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