Head Scarves in Olympic Competition

Sun Jul 29, 2012 5:54 pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/wojdan-ali-seraj-abdulrahim-shahrkhani-headscarf_n_1705866.html

Summary for non-clickers: Saudi Arabia is sending two female athletes to the Olympics this year. This is a first for the country. One will be competing in distance running, the other in Judo. The International Judo Federation has ruled that the athlete competing in Judo will not be allowed to participate while wearing a head scarf. Saudi Arabia has was open that it would only send female athletes if they were allowed to wear clothing appropriate to Islam during competition and the decision may prevent them from sending women to future Olympic games. The IJF maintains that the head scarf would be a safety hazard if worn during competition because of some of the techniques used in Judo (specifically choke holds) and that it would be inappropriate to introduce that risk to both the athlete from Saudi Arabia and other competitors. The article states that some Asian Judo Federations have allowed head scarves to be worn during their events, but not all. There has been no issue with the distance runner who is allowd to wear her head scarf in competition.

WDYT? What is reasonable and unreasonable? How should this be resolved?

Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:23 pm

I can see how it would be a hazard in judo. I wonder why they weren't told that upfront?

I hope that she still can compete and that nothing happens to her when she gets home. I am more concerned with that. I see nothing wrong with the women wearing their scarves, except for the hazard in judo. I could care less what someone competing is wearing because that isn't what matters in the Olympics.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:02 pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/olympics-judo-saudi-arabia-headscarf-rules_n_1722865.html?1343741628

Update today: It was announced that the IOC working with the IJF and Saudi Arabia's OC have reached an agreement that will allow the athlete to compete. The article did not include any details about what the agreement will involve.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:38 pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/olympics-judo-saudi-arabia-headscarf-rules_n_1722865.html?1343741628

Update today: It was announced that the IOC working with the IJF and Saudi Arabia's OC have reached an agreement that will allow the athlete to compete. The article did not include any details about what the agreement will involve.

I'm really glad that she is being allowed to compete.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:09 pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/olympics-judo-saudi-arabia-headscarf-rules_n_1722865.html?1343741628

Update today: It was announced that the IOC working with the IJF and Saudi Arabia's OC have reached an agreement that will allow the athlete to compete. The article did not include any details about what the agreement will involve.

I'm really glad that she is being allowed to compete.

So am I. When I first read the article, my thought was that legitimate safety concerns need to be dealt with first, but that this should have been addressed before she came to London and efforts should be made to reach some kind of accomodation within those boundaries, not just for her but for future years.

DF actually does martial arts, so I asked him how legitimate the concern was (I wondered because the first article said head scarves were allowed in some leagues). He said they can be dangerous, but not more so than long hair and that they need to be tucked and some techniques adapted to be worn safely. He pointed out that in the leagues where they are allowed people are likely used to those adjustments so they can be worn more safely and that it is probably an issue here because there is no way to know that everyone is aware of those changes and there is a fairness issue around expecting others to adapt their style to her. His solution was actually to have her matches in a separate room, with only women present and not to broadcast them. That way, she could take the scarf off for the match and put it back on before returing to see her next pairing.

I will be curious to see if that is what they decided to do or if they found another solution.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:27 pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/olympics-judo-saudi-arabia-headscarf-rules_n_1722865.html?1343741628

Update today: It was announced that the IOC working with the IJF and Saudi Arabia's OC have reached an agreement that will allow the athlete to compete. The article did not include any details about what the agreement will involve.

I'm really glad that she is being allowed to compete.

So am I. When I first read the article, my thought was that legitimate safety concerns need to be dealt with first, but that this should have been addressed before she came to London and efforts should be made to reach some kind of accomodation within those boundaries, not just for her but for future years.

DF actually does martial arts, so I asked him how legitimate the concern was (I wondered because the first article said head scarves were allowed in some leagues). He said they can be dangerous, but not more so than long hair and that they need to be tucked and some techniques adapted to be worn safely. He pointed out that in the leagues where they are allowed people are likely used to those adjustments so they can be worn more safely and that it is probably an issue here because there is no way to know that everyone is aware of those changes and there is a fairness issue around expecting others to adapt their style to her. His solution was actually to have her matches in a separate room, with only women present and not to broadcast them. That way, she could take the scarf off for the match and put it back on before returing to see her next pairing.

I will be curious to see if that is what they decided to do or if they found another solution.

Exactly. Why wasn't this dealt with before? The cynical part of me thinks that it was to bring attention to the fact that this is the first time SA has sent women & what women there face. I hope that isn't the reason, but I have to wonder.