Saudi Arabia | The Long Walk

In the Kingdom, women fight for their right to stay fit

01 January 2010
Players from the groundbreaking women’s basketball team Jeddah United practise free-throws in a Saudi Arabian gym.
ALI JAREKJI/REUTERS
Players from the groundbreaking women’s basketball team Jeddah United practise free-throws in a Saudi Arabian gym.
ALI JAREKJI/REUTERS

EVERY EVENING, AS THE HEAT of the day lifts, scores of women in black robes and headscarves converge on the wide sidewalks outside a private university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city. They are there for their daily workout: a brisk stride along the campus perimeter.

Walking is the only physical exercise females can do publicly in this strict Muslim kingdom. Government schools do not offer physical education classes to girls. There are no female sports teams at universities. Women cannot swim, dance, bike or jog in public, and there are few places to do these activities in private. Females are not even permitted to enter stadiums to support their favourite football team.

Outside their own homes, most women have no place to exercise except in all-women’s health clubs. But these clubs are scarce and too pricey for many women, and now, some officials want to shut them altogether.

Caryle Murphy CARYLE MURPHY reports for the Washington Post, and has received a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting (1991). She is the author of Passion For Islam, and lives in Saudi

Keywords: sports Caryle Murphy Saudi Arabia feminism women’s rights Shura Council Shari’a Prince Khaled Al Faisal Jeddah United
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