Olympic Minister criticises Saudi government for non participation of female athletes in Olympics
Saudi Arabia has been recently accused by the British Shadow Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell for the discrimination it carries out against its female athletes by not allowing them to take part in Olympic Games.
Saudi Arabia has not included any of its female athletes in the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.
Saudi Arabia has not sent any female athlete to any of the Olympic Games in its history so far. However, it is not the only country that has failed to send a female along with its Olympics delegation; both Brunei as well as Qatar also have not done so.
Jowell expressed her opinion on the non inclusion of Saudi women in London 2012 Olympic Games in the following manner, “The London Games would be the perfect opportunity for the Saudis to spell out a way forward. I would like to see them set out a clear plan for equal inclusion of women in time for the 2016 games in Rio de Janiero.”
On the other hand, a spokesperson from the International Olympic Committee gave the stance of the IOC on the subject in the following statements, “The IOC strives to ensure the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement are universal and non-discriminatory, in line with the Olympic Charter and our values of respect, friendship and excellence. National Olympic committees are encouraged to uphold that spirit in their delegations. The IOC does not give ultimatums or deadlines, but believes a lot can be achieved through dialogue.”
The Saudi Arabian practice of discrimination against its female athletes came into the limelight after a report was published by Human Rights Watch. The human rights group reported that there have been several pledges made to the Saudi government in order to urge it to allow the participation of women in Olympic Games but they have been completely ignored.
The reason for not allowing female participation in the Olympic Games by the government of Saudi Arabia stated by the human rights group is that the female athletes would be more prone to immoral and unethical behaviour.
After the report was published, pressure on Saudi Arabia for the participation of women in the Olympics increased.
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