Saudi Arabia refuses to send female athletes to London Olympics 2012
Saudi Arabia has refused to allow its women athletes to take part in the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.
According to a report recently released by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), by not allowing its women athletes to show their capabilities in the Olympic events, Saudi Arabia is carrying out discrimination which conflicts directly with the charter of the International
Olympic Committee which states clearly that participating countries are not to carry out discrimination and practice equality.
In the words of the IOC charter, no participating country should indulge in, “any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, s*x or otherwise.”
The following statement was made by the Human Rights Watch on the discrimination of female athletes in Saudi Arabia, “The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind
and in the Olympic spirit.”
However, according to a news report by the Digital Journal, the Saudi royal kingdom has intentions of providing a separate enclosure to women spectators for the sporting events that take place in the King Abdullah Sports City. The sports centre is planned
to be opened in Jeddah in 2014.
Saudi Arabia is not the only country that has never sent in a single female as part of the Olympic delegation. The two other countries that fall into the same category are Brunei and Qatar.
After the report was released by the Human Rights Watch, many other human rights groups voiced their opinion about the taking of strong measures against Saudi Arabia by the IOC. There have been demands made to the IOC that it should ban the Saudi delegation
from taking part in the London 2012 Olympic Games in case the country fails to send its female athletes as well.
However, the IOC has not agreed to apply such strict measures against Saudi Arabia and the other two countries that have not yet sent any female athlete to an Olympic event. According to the IOC, discussions have and will prove to be a more effective medium.
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