KARACHI: The Muslim women athletes of UAE have had to overcome several political, social, religious and sporting obstacles to reach the 2012 Games.
Generally, most athletes at the Olympics start their fight when they take their place on the starting blocks.
But for women athletes from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei who have all entered into the Olympics for the first time, it’s more like victory itself.
Shaherkani, 16, came from Saudi Arabia, an ultra-conservative society where women are banned from driving and cannot leave the house without a male member.
Judoka Wojdan Shaherkani’s Olympics lasted just over a minute but the fact she made it to
the Games can be termed as a revolutionary moment for the women of Saudi Arabia.
She faced strong discouragement and people even labelled her the ‘Prostitute of the
Olympics.’
The 23-year-old Tahmina Kohistani, from Afghanistan is competing for the first time at the
Olympics and trailed in last in the 100 metres but only the presence meant a lot.
She has suffered months of harassment from her countrymen who believe women should not be
permitted to play sport.
“I faced a lot of challenges in my training for the London Olympics. One day I was coming to
the stadium and the taxi driver asked me where I was going. I said ‘I am training, I am
going to London Olympics’ and he said ‘get out of the cab, I don’t want to take you there,”
Kohistani said after the race.
Noor Hussain Al-Malki, only the fourth female athlete from Qatar to enter the Olympics, who
lasted just a dozen strides before pulling up injured in her 100m heat.
Although, these women athletes couldn’t achieve any noticeable achievement in the games but
only participation in the mega-event in front of millions of people can be termed as the
biggest achievement itself.
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