Saudi Arabia, where sports events for women are banned, is considering sending a female athlete for the first time ever to the Olympics this year, following criticism from abroad. The issue of women in sport remains extremely sensitive in kingdom, where women are not even allowed to drive cars and the authorities shut down private gyms for females in 2009 and 2010.
On Saturday, Al-Sharq newspaper said that equestrian jumping contestant Dalma Malhas, 18, is likely to be Saudi Arabia's only female athlete at this summer's Olympics in London.
Malhas won a bronze medal at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics without having been nominated by her country, following an invitation from the International Olympic Committee (OIC).
Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, also the powerful interior minister known for his opposition to women being given the right to drive, has given the nod to sending the her to the Games, according to local media.
But the decision has yet to be officially declared. The Saudi Olympic body has so far said that only men will take part in the London Olympics.
In July last year, the president of the IOC's Women and Sport Committee, Anita DeFrantz, criticised Saudi Arabia, as well as Qatar and Brunei for being the last three countries to have never sent female athletes to the Olympics. Last month, the New York-based Human Rights Watch published a report that damned the systematic exclusion of women from sporting activities in Saudi Arabia. Qatar, which is bidding for the right to host the 2020 Olympics, has already announced its firm intention to send female competitors to London.
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