In a tournament leading up to International Women's Day, Afghan boxing team comprised of Sadaf Rahem, Fahima Mohammad, and Shabnam Rahman were denied entry to UK. Women in Sport (recognized Women in Sport advocacy and empowerment group in UK) who were supporting and funding their … [Read more...]
Squash Star Takes on the Taliban: ‘Chosen one’ fights for a cause
BY:JAMES MONTAGUEPakistani squash champion Maria Toor Pakay has been threatened by the Taliban for playing the sport she loves.STORY HIGHLIGHTS Maria Toor Pakay is Pakistan's No. 1 squash player despite difficult circumstances Pakay fled her native Waziristan after threats from the Taliban, moving … [Read more...]
Egypt’s First Female Dive Master Speaks Out
BY: TAFLINE LAYLINEgypt has certified the country’s first female dive master – a devout Muslim who refers to herself as a feminist. With coveted dive spots scattered all along the Red Sea, the ecologically-threatened Sinai Peninsula attracts scores of Egyptian and foreign … [Read more...]
Western Media on Muslim Women Athletes
MIDDLE EASTWestern Media on Muslim Women AthletesThis report, the third in a series by Small Media, identifies the complex role of Muslim women athletes. Here, we explore what makes headlines in the western press, including the controversy over the headscarf and Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s … [Read more...]
En Garde: Muslim-American Woman Fencer Slashes Stereotypes
Posted: February 1st, 2013 by the US Embassy in UKAuthor: ircU.S. Fencing’s Ibtihaj Muhammad demonstrates her fencing jacket at a school in East London On Monday 28 January, Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim woman to compete on behalf of the United States in international competition, visited … [Read more...]
Arab Women Springing…. into Football Stadiums for Gulf Cup of Nations
BY: SHIREEN AHMEDBahrain recently hosted the 21st Gulf Cup of Nations. A grand tournament involving eight teams from the Middle East.The Emirati victors beat the talented Iraqi squad for a 2-1 win. They emerged glorious and jubilant. A nation of fans cheering wildly and supporting them.Among those … [Read more...]
MWIS Writer Shireen Ahmed Selected for The Best of Football Writing in 2012
Shireen Ahmed's article "Off-Record but on-Field: Veil, Burka, Babushka or Bedsheet?" is selected as one of the Most Compelling writings on football. Congrats Shireen!Who is Shireen Ahmed: Shireen Ahmed is a frontline worker in Social Services, writer and footballer living in Toronto. … [Read more...]
Salma Hosseini- TaeKwonDo Instructor…in Kabul
BY: SHIREEN AHMEDI came across a wonderful site … [Read more...]
Middle East soccer associations campaign for women’s right to play
By James M. DorseyMiddle Eastern soccer associations have launched a campaign to put women’s soccer on par with men’s football in a region in which a woman’s right to play and pursue an athletic career remains controversial and at a time at which political Islam is on the rise.The … [Read more...]
Fearless and Female: Cox’s Bazaar Best Surfer
BY: SHIREEN AHMED“I feel free on the water...where I am from and who I am doesn’t really matter”.- Nassima AtkerCox’s Bazaar, in the southeast corner of Bangladesh, is a perfect spot for surfing. In the early nineties a local resident, Jafar Alam, set up a surf school and … [Read more...]