Who ever said that athletes have to relinquish their traditions in order to enter the playing field?Chadida Sekkafi succeeded in reconciling her great passion for sports with her religious faith.This 17-year-old girl, daughter of Moroccan parents managed to disprove several false myths:she is a woman, a foreigner, a Muslim and a soccer referee.And she actually is the first referee in Italy to wear the veil, which softly covers her hair and then goes around her neck, highlighting the features of her face.Her parents allowed her to take part in a course for referees, which she brilliantly passed; and now Chadida is a member of the AIA section in Cremona, which has some experience in this area, as7 other girls are members.They have all entered the field after having won the most important game:the one against prejudice.Yet, it doesn’t always work like this.
On the other side of the world, in fact, women still have to fight in order to get respect for their culture.This recently happened to the members of Qatar women’s national basketball team in the Asian Games in South Korea – a four-year event in which the best Eastern athletes compete.The competition is being run under the slogan “Diversity Shines Here”, but when they aren’t actually applied in the field, these words will only be good for embellishing banners and merchandise..The Qatari players were denied permission to wear the hijab during their game against Mongolia.They refused and decided to abandon the competition.They knew they wouldn’t be allowed to play wearing the headscarf, but hope is the last to die and they gave it a try nevertheless, secretly wishing that FIBA – the International Basketball Federation – would change its mind.
Other countries, instead, refused to participate in the games from the very beginning, due to the veto on the hijab.One of the players, Amal Mohamed Awad, explained what happened:“We aren’t going to remove the scarf, in order to play; this is a lack of respect for our religion, and we therefore decided to let organizers declare a forfeit.The scarf is not a safety issue and nobody gave us any explanation about why we shouldn’t wear it.”
The president of Qatar’s Women’s Sport Committee Ahlam Al Mana criticized the Federation’s decision as a violation of the Olympic principles that defend diversity:“What happened today is against International Olympic Committee goals which are meant to include countries with different cultures.”“I am pretty sure,” she added, “that what happened today can quickly change FIBA rules.”A change in the rules is being studied, in order to allow players to wear the hijab in international matches:for the time being, this has only been allowed in certain local tournaments, including the Qatari championship.In any case, the green light for the scarf will only be given after the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016.
Soccer, for once, is ahead of other sports:After two years of testing, IFAB – a body that, as of 1886 ratifies the changes to international regulations – decided that men and women can cover their heads during the game.So the hijab can be worn, after all. Soccer headscarves are simple scarves without sharp pins or clasps that can hurt other players during the game.There is only one rule to be followed:the scarf must be of the same color as the shirt.Headscarves can therefore be of any color, just like the flag of peace.
And let’s hope this is just the beginning.
Translation provided by ProLingua
