Thursday 30 June 2011

IWF - most progressive sporting body of today

In light of recent developments regarding Muslim women's competition wear in weightlifting tournies, friniggi sportswear heralds the
IWF as the most progressive, most inclusive and open-minded sporting bodies of today.
Sooo unlike FIFA.. tsk tsk.
Kudos to IWF!
See their news release after their Malaysia meeting on June 26 below:

MEDIA RELEASE in regard to weightlifting competition costumes
29.06.2011
INTERNATIONAL WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION CREATES MORE INCLUSIVE SPORT ENVIRONMENT
(Penang, MAS) The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) demonstrated its progressive strength today during the Junior World Championships by presenting alternatives to its traditional competition costumes. The newly approved competition costume modification promotes and enables a more inclusive sport environment and breaks down barriers to participation.

The IWF's Technical Committee, chaired by IWF Vice President Sam Coffa of Australia, reviewed a proposal from the United States Olympic Committee and the USA Weightlifting Federation in relation to Muslim female athlete competition wear. "The Committee continually reviews its technical sport rules as directed by its quadrennial work plan." Coffa declares "This issue was on our radar so we thank the USOC and our member Federation for prompting it and look forward to having increased global participation from removing this barrier"

The modified rule changes permits athletes to wear a one piece full body tight fitted "unitard" under the compulsory weightlifting costume. The "unitard" will enable technical officials to effectively adjudicate areas of the body which are essential to the correct execution of the lift. "As far as wearing coverings on the athletes head, such as the hijab, the sport of Olympic Weightlifting has always allowed this." Coffa notes "Our rules simply mandate that the athlete cannot touch the head with the barbell; if the barbell touches the covering, it is considered to be part of the head."

"Weightlifting is an Olympic Sport open for all athletes to participate without discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, age, or national origin in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter and values." states Dr Tamas Ajan, IWF President and Honorary IOC member "This rule modification has been considered in the spirit of fairness, equality and inclusion."
The new IWF Competition Costume rule modifications are effective immediately.
For more information, contact:
Ms Aniko Nemeth-Mora
Director and Chief of Protocol
+0164090029 (Penang, MAS until July 8, 2011)
aniko.nemeth-mora@iwfnet.net

IWF changes rules to accommodate for Muslim female weightlifters: Victory for Kulsoom

Kulsoom has informed that she is now able to compete in tournaments in one of her
clothing options she presented in a video
to the IWF which includes leotard, knee sleeves, loose singlet and leg warmers.
The IWF has kindly and reasonably responded by changing rules to accommodate for Muslim women weightlifters.
Much appreciation goes out to the IWF!
Hopefully other sporting bodies follow suit.
See article from ABC News:
By CHRISTINA NG
June 29, 2011
Disputes over what female Muslim athletes can wear have arisen in soccer, swimming, track, gymnastics and, most recently, weightlifting, putting the athletes in the difficult situation of having to choose between their religion and their sport. But today, a compromise was reached in weightlifting.
The International Weightlifting Federation announced from Malaysia that it would modify the rules for athletic attire to allow athletes to wear a "one piece full body tight fitted 'unitard' under the compulsory weightlifting costume."
This decision comes after Muslim weightlifter Kulsoom Abdullah, from Atlanta, was on the brink of qualifying for the American Open tournament last year when she was eliminated for wearing her hijab. She was told it could be dangerous and potentially give her an unfair advantage as judges might not be able to tell if her arms were locked.
The hijab complies with her religious beliefs that she must be completely covered, with the excepton of her face, hands and feet. Abdullah, 35, would not compete without it.
In a statement today, Abdullah said, "This is a great victory. I am hopeful for more participation in sports for women…. I hope other sporting organizations will follow this example to allow greater inclusion and participation in their respective sport. One example is FIFA's disqualification of the Iranian women's team."
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The Iranian women's soccer team was disqualified from a match against Jordan for next year's Olympics due to their headscarves. A FIFA official said that the headscarves violated their rules for dress and that, for safety reasons, women's necks cannot be covered.
When Abdullah was disqualified, she teamed up with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which asked both USA Weightlifting and the United States Olympic Committee to advocate for her on behalf of all women who wish to compete.
Each sport has a governing body; for weightlifting, the final decision had to come from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).
In the news release announcing the decision, the IWF wrote, "The newly approved competition costume modification promotes and enables a more inclusive sport environment and breaks down barriers to participation."
Dr. Tamas Ajan, IWF president and honorary member of the International Olympic Committee, said, "Weightlifting is an Olympic sport open for all athletes to participate without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age or national origin."
While this decision symbolizes a victory for Muslim women, other setbacks have garnered attention this week, most notably in California where 19-year-old Umme-Hani Kahn says she was fired from a Hollister store in San Mateo for wearing a head scarf.
After agreeing to wear headscarves in Hollister colors, Kahn says she was informed in February that her hijab violated the store's "look policy" and she would have to take it off in order to continue working.
She refused and made a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which filed a workplace discrimination lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch this week. Hollister is owned by Abercrombie and this is not the first time the company has been sued for this issue.
Abercrombie denies any wrongdoing and says they have been compliant with the law regarding reasonable religious accommodation.
"The company's 'all-American look' policy is un-American, because it excludes people because of their race, national origin, gender or religion," said EEOC San Francisco regional attorney William Tamayo in a statement.
With one victory in athletics and one setback in retail, the fight for inclusiveness as represented by the Muslim hijab will continue with Kahn's case
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/weightlifting-organization-modifies-clothing-rules-muslim-woman/story?id=13960735

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Special feature: Muslim female tennis players of Wimbledon 2011

It's Wimbledon time and I thought I'd do a post to highlight the careers of some high profile Muslim female WTA players.
I was supposed to do this last week, when the tournament started, but I got so busy!
AND It was supposed to be a series of posts, detailing the player profiles. Ah well.
Two posts with links to profiles will have to do.
Unfortunately our ladies didn't get past the first round in Ladies Singles, but to be fair they had some heavy opponents such as the Williams sisters.
First off, is the well-known Indian player, Sania Mirza.
Sania Mirza was defeated by Virginie Razzano of France 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker) 2-6 6-3 in the first round.
This next player is the sister of another well-known tennis player, Morat Safin, who at one point was ranked in the Top 10 of the men's circuit ATP. Her name is Dinara Safina and she's carving her own place in the tennis world.
She withdrew from both Wimbledon and Roland Garros French Open due to a back injury.
Players to feature in the next Wimbledon post:
1. Aravane Rezai of FRANCE beaten by Serena Williams 6-3 3-6 6-1 1st Round tuesday 21 june
2. Akgul Amanmuradova of UZBEKISTAN beaten by Venus Williams of USA 6-3 6-1 1st Round Monday 20 june

dinara safina.jpg

sania mirza2.jpg

Monday 27 June 2011

TOYOTA 1000 Desert Race, Botswana 2011

See videos on our facebook.
Taken by yours truly.
Background to the race:
The Toyota 1000 Desert Race is the premier off-road racing event held in Southern Africa. The race takes place in Botswana and a different course is laid out each year.
It started in Botswana in 1975 and then moved to South Africa in 1981.
The motorsport race moved back to Botswana in 1991, where it all started.
The world's best off-road racers who also compete in Dakar-Paris races, compete here.
The are different types of cars competing: Sandmasters (which kinda look like a cockroach), vans, bikes (i think)
I took the vids at Spectator point 19.
There was a bend in the track which forced cars to slow down.. great for me with my slow camera..
coz i managed to get some good vids and pics (soon to be posted.)
It was a fun day out for kids and family.
Though the sun was out, it is the middle of winter, and it is very cold evidenced by spectators in warm clothing.
here are the links to the vids:
video 1
Video 2
Photos to be posted soon.

Saturday 25 June 2011

elbow lockout.jpg

Elbow lockout

Kulsoom demonstrates elbow lockout. Given to friniggi courtesy of Kulsoom Abdullah. View photo in kulsoomabdullah.

Kulsoom dress options.jpg

Kulsoom's clothing options in her IWF presentation

This is what the clothing debate is all about. photo's given to friniggi courtesy of Kulsoom Abdullah. View Kulsoom's clothing options presented to IWF in kulsoomabdullah.

KULSOOM EXPLAINS MALAYSIA and her PRESENTATION to the IWF

In a recent email to me Kulsoom explained that she did not go to Malaysia to attend the IWF meeting because she was told by a representative at the Olympics Committee USA, that she could not attend. She thinks it's because those meetings are restricted. That's why the donations towards her airline tickets were called off.
However, Kulsoom is not giving up. We are not giving up.
She would like to be heard by the IWF and has prepared a presentation which you can see here.
Just download the attachment to this post.
You can also view a high resolution format here:
http://mbf.me/8107
This presentation in PDF format, is a hardcopy if you will, of the video which she plans to send to the IWF.
The video will show the same slides but will feature her voice in it too.
Kulsoom has worked hard on this presentation to address the concerns of the IWF, regarding the ability of judges to see knee and elbow lockouts. An important factor in judging a weightlifter.
We have also added another important factor for the IWF to consider:
that allowing more Islamic clothing to be worn by Muslimah athletes, will open up the sport for diversity in athletes AND SPECTATORS too.
THis adds to the publicity of weightlifting as a sport.
If more muslimah athletes are able to compete without compromising their Islamic hijab, then more and more spectators from the Muslim-female market will start to watch weightlifting competitions. This adds to the value of the sport, the prize money involved etc.
THe Muslim-female spectator will not be the only market won over to the IWF, but also non-Muslims from Muslim countries who support their fellow countrywomen. Diversity indeed!
PLease help to spread awareness of Kulsoom's struggle to win the right to compete in cover.
At the very least, the more people know of it, the least likely the IWF is to ignore her video presentation to them.
We would like them to at least hear her out. And to consider the value this may bring to their sport. It really is a win-win situation.
Make dua! (PRAY)

Thursday 23 June 2011

Update on Kulsoom

I was informed last night that Kulsoom will not be attending the meeting in Malaysia anymore. She has removed the CHIP IN on her site.
So if you have tried to donate and did not find the CHIP IN facility when visiting her site, that is why.
Details to follow on her site liftingcovered.com
Thank you to all who have heard our message.
At the very least I hope this has raised awareness of the ordeal of Muslimah athletes and the hijab bans across different sports.
Jazakallah.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

HELP KULSOOM ABDULLAH - MUSLIM WEIGHTLIFTER

UPDATE on KULSOOM dated 07 July 2011
Kulsoom is now allowed to compete due to IWF changing their rules to accommodate for Muslim women.
She has registered to compete in the USA Nationals on July 15, but needs financial support.
Let's help get her there!
Donate on her site
UPDATE ON KULSOOM dated 25 June 2011
read it here: http://blog.friniggi.com/blog/_archives/2011/6/25/4845413.html
view previous updates as well as my original appeal below.
UPDATE ON KULSOOM dated 23 June 2011
I have posted updates everywhere: facebook, twitter, on this blog, in the comments section and separate post.
But I thought I'd post this here where it is visible to all those who have heard our message and wish to donate.
I was informed last night that Kulsoom will no longer be attending the meeting in Malaysia. I do not have all the details
yet, but it is sad because I know she really wanted to be there to present her case in person to the IWF.
The CHIP IN donation facility has been removed from her site liftingcovered.com. So you will not be able to make any donations.
Jazakallah and thank you to all who have heard our message and have come to help.
At the very least, I hope we have raised awareness on the ordeal Muslim female athletes face regarding hijab bans across all sports.
More details to follow as to why she is no longer attending the IWF meeting in Malaysia, soon.
PLease read my original post below, if you like. It still gives info and links to Kulsoom's ordeal.
Regards
Fatima
ORIGINAL POST on 22 June 2011
Earlier this month I posted about Kulsoom Abdullah being banned from competing in weightlifting due to her Islamic dress. See article here: http://blog.friniggi.com/blog/Photos/_archives/2011/6/10/4835146.html
Kulsoom wishes to present her case in person at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) meeting in Penang, Malaysia this Sunday 26th June.
Click here to see IWF schedule: http://www.2011wjwc.com/schedule.html
She is willing to discuss any options with the IWF to find a compromise between their dress code and hers. If she succeeds, this would open up the sport for greater diversity in its athletes especially to include Muslimah athletes. On a greater scale, it may even cause ripples in the sporting world to include other sporting bodies such as FIFA, to rethink their dress code restrictions against hijab and Islamic dress. Earlier this month Iran's women's team were forced to forfeit an Olympic qualifier due to their Islamic sports kit that went against FIFA's regulations. This means Iran's women's team won't compete in 2012.
If she is successful in Malaysia then she has won the right to wear Islamic hijab in weightlifting competitions for women all over the world.
If she is not, she is still able to present her case for American competitions. One of which is happening in July.
This is not just about Kulsoom, but for Muslimah athletes everywhere in any sport who wishes to practise Islam and sports.
There are so few Muslimah athletes today, even fewer who wear Islamic hijab. Let's support them. And make a true difference!
Kulsoom needs donations for her ticket to Penang, Malaysia to attend the IWF meeting and present her case for competing in Islamic hijab . And she needs your donations really fast. If she is to make it in time, she has to leave the USA on Friday 24 June 2011. This friday!
I have personally spoken to Mr Abbas from CAIR (COUNCIL of AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS) over the phone and discussed with him Kulsoom's situation. And therefore verified it. CAIR is working with Kulsoom in this rights case.
For any queries on this case, you may contact Mr Abbas at CAIR on 0017202510425. He is more than willing to give you more info.
Alternative numbers for CAIR 0012024888787.
HOW TO DONATE:
Kulsoom needs $2500 for air tickets to Malaysia to present her case in person at the IWF meeting this Sunday. Let's help get her there.
Please donate today or tomorrow. Any amount is appreciated.
If you have heard our appeal for help, and wish to donate please visit her site (and more specifically her blogpost) at
www.liftingcovered.com/malaysia
and donate via the CHIP IN icon on her webpage. It is secure and use Paypal or you could donate via Amazon too.
Here are links to recent articles on Kulsoom's journey so far:
CAIR (COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS) seeks hijab rights for Muslim female weightlifter
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20110608/pl_usnw/DC16563_1
Her site:
www.liftingcovered.com
Weightlifter Kulsoom Abdullah fights hijab ban
http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/12/weightlifter-kulsoom-abdullah-fights-hijab-ban.html

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Sania-Mirza_10.jpg

Sania Mirza professional tennis player

View photo album muslimsportswomen.

Photo source: http://sportingummah.com/
Sania Mirza, who hails from India, moves up to a WTA career-high doubles ranking at number 14. This is after their runners-up performance at the popular tennis tournament, the French Open last week.
As a singles player, however, Mirza ranks at number 58. Though this is still an upwards move of 14 places.
Mirza is the most prominent Inidan tennis player on the professional women's circuit.
Born in Mumbai, India on the 15th November, 1986 to Mr. Imran Mirza and Naseema. Mr Imran Mirza was a sports journalist and her mother was associated with the printing industry.
Mirza started playing tennis at the age of 6 years old, which is the age most professional players start their training.
Her coach recognised her talent from an early age.
In 1999 Mirza won bronze at the Asian Games. She has won 21 ITF titles to date, and has reached the 3rd and 4th rounds of major Grand Slams, a feat for many players.
Her most powerful asset is her forehand just like her role model Steffi Graf.
While she doesn't practice hijab, she is a Muslim so let's support the achievements of Muslim women irrespective of what they choose to wear.

Monday 13 June 2011

Ms Yassmien Abdel-Majied

Young and Upcoming Person
Ms Yassmien Abdel-Majied loves fast cars. A fourth year engineering student at the the University of Queensland, this young Australian woman became besotted with fast cars while watching a movie six years ago. Ferrari's are her favourite but any fast car will do.
"I just became enamoured with these beautiful machines, the capacity they have. It's just fantastic," Ms Abdel-Magied says.
At only 19 years of age, Yassmien already has a string of acheivements behind her: at 16 she enrolled in university and founded Youth without Borders, she coaces a Muslim girls football team called " Shinpads and Hijabs", and to to top it al off she's been awarded Young Queenslander of the Year 2010.
After earning her engineering degree she hopes to enter formula 1 as the first female, Muslim driver.
Read about Yassmien in photo muslimsportswomen.

Photo: Paul Harris
Source:http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/fired-up-to-be-the-first-female-muslim-f1-driver-20110102-19d2v.html

YASSMIN_ABDEL_MAGIED2-420x0.jpg

Thursday 9 June 2011

Iranian women’s soccer team forfeits 2012 qualifier over head scarves

By Brooks PECK
The Iranian women's soccer team was in tears after being forced to forfeit a 2012 London Olympics qualifying match this past weekend because it showed up to play in hijabs. FIFA banned the Islamic head scarf in 2007, saying that it could cause choking injuries -- the same reason it gave for recently banning snoods (neck warmers). FIFA also has strict rules against any religious statements in team uniforms.
Since Iran refused to comply with these rules and didn't use the specially designed caps that its 2010 Youth Olympics team wore, Friday's match was abandoned by officials and a 3-0 win was awarded to Jordan as a result. The Football Federation of Iran said it will complain to FIFA about the ruling, but FIFA says assurances were made beforehand so that this situation would've been avoided.
From the AP:
"Despite initial assurances that the Iranian delegation understood this, the players came out wearing the hijab, and the head and neck totally covered, which was an infringement of the laws of the game," FIFA said in a statement. [...]
Jordan team officials also objected to the hijab rule before the game, but prepared to play by declining to select women who objected on religious grounds.
"The Iranian team and three Jordanian players were also banned from playing because they wore the traditional head cover," Rana Husseini, head of Jordan's women's football committee, told The Associated Press.
"The problem is that the head cover assigned and approved by FIFA for women players to wear does not suit them as it reveals part of the neck and this is not allowed and it is not acceptable," she said.
Iran also forfeited a second group match against Vietnam on Sunday, seriously damaging its chances of advancing to the London Olympics. It seems unlikely that its federation's complaints will help its case, though, since these rules are not new and compromises have been made in the past. It's just a shame these women were put in the middle of this debate between Iran's federation and FIFA and set up for disappointment.
SOURCE:
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Iranian-women-s-soccer-team-forfeits-2012-qualif?urn=oly-wp280
MY TWO CENTS:
It's sad that these women are in the middle of this tug-of-war.
All they want to do is play and compete on a world stage, test their skills, make their country proud.
Some may be prepared to play without hijab, and that is their choice - they should be given a chance.
Some may not be willing to compromise hijab for football glory. Again, their choice.
I feel that Iran should find a middle ground here, a starting point towards FIFA's acceptance of full Islamic hijab on the field.
My IDEA: Iran should comply with the compromise offered to them by FIFA - the cap-like cover that covers only the hair. But continue to object to the rule and try to have it changed.
In the meantime, these girls can compete, show their skills (of which they have plenty!) and when they gain the admiration of the world due to their strength and uniqueness, the global football fanbase will be behind the girls when they fight for acceptance of Islamic hijab on the field. Over time it'll prove that their is no safety concern to stop them from wearing proper hijab while playing.
The more the world sees Muslim women competing with strength and spirituality, the more they'll accept Islamic dress on the field. It's just about shifting people's mindsets and attitudes towards hijab. But it won't happen overnight. It can happen over time though. And we have to take small steps. We cannot expect strictly secular organisations to completely fall-in-love over our religious dress codes. We can, however, take it one step at a time and take up their compromise with gratitude. Then the global shift towards accepting Islamic dress code begins.
And if the largest sporting body, FIFA, accepts it - other sporting bodies will too.
What do you think? Should Iran accept the compromise, or are they doing the right thing by refusing to budge away from Islamic hijab?