Tuesday, 14 June 2011
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.
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
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
Friday, 10 June 2011
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?
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?
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