ARAB women sportswriters want equality with men in the practice of their profession. While opportunities abound for women sports journalists in other countries, especially the West, their counterparts in the Arab world are considered a novelty and treated with indifference if not contempt.
These concerns and others will be addressed when the Arab Federation for Sports Journalism runs its fourth course from Feb. 1 to 5 in Syria under the patronage of Syria’s first lady Asma Asaad; the course is dedicated to Arab women sports journalists.
According to officials at the federation, the course is being held due to the high demand from the Arab women journalists who attended the previous three courses. The women are using the Syria sports journalism course to help them chart their own destiny and define their roles in society.
Several sports journalists in the Arab nation from both sexes are in agreement tradition and culture, that may vary from country to country, are impeding the growth of Arab women as sports journalists. What might be acceptable to some people could be unwelcomed to others, like the mixing of the sexes in public gatherings.
Veteran sports journalist and sports section chief at Al-Akhbar newspaper in Lebanon, Ali Safa, stressed the importance of women entering this field. He encouraged it, saying, “there is always a need for women in this field, and those already there have proved they can be as good as the men, and to some extent more precise, active and devoted.” He added, “those who get in the way of women trying to gain experience in this field are considered old fashioned and too strict as they prevent women from learning something new.”
In the West, women become independent — perhaps in their late teens or early twenties — but in this region, things are different. Women only leave their homes when they get married, or in a few cases when going to study abroad. Rarely are they able to do so — unless the trip is work-related or, on some occasions, with a male guardian. Besides that, they continue to ask the permission of their parents when going out and are encouraged not to stay out late, lest they cause distress to the family and tarnish its reputation.
“That is why sports journalism is not as easy for us as for men who are treated differently in society and are given more flexibility concerning their movements,” said Asma Al-Hussain, a 21-year-old sports journalist at Shout, a youth sports magazine in Egypt. She was in her third year in college studying public relations and media course when she joined her colleagues who were chosen as the top students to start Shout. “At first it was hectic and we had to start from scratch, especially since most of us had no interest in sports but now we just cannot let go.” She explained they get the same assignments the men get, and work long hours until 12 midnight or even later. “This is very stressing and sometimes scary considering the difficulty of finding transportation at such a late hour and that is why my parents wish I would find a more convenient job,” she said. “It is all about establishing good contacts, and once this is made, the rest comes naturally and makes the hard work worth it,” said Al-Hussain who specializes only in football unless a major event, such as the Arab Games, take place.
For Asia Abdullah, 23, from Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar daily, her sporting background made sports journalism easy for her. “Being a former basketball player for the national team and member of the first team of women’s football in Lebanon, I was already into sports and had many contacts there,” she said. “I can’t imagine myself in anything else but sports,” she added. She specializes in basketball, athletics, swimming, tennis, and local and international football.
In Oman, women in the newspaper world are being sniffed at. “They still criticize us and reject the idea of a woman speaking to men or athletes even if it is within the demands of work. But my parents, and especially my father, encourage me and are proud of me and that is what matters,” said 21-year-old Zainab Al-Zedjaly from Al-Shabiba daily in Oman. Al-Zedjaly has been interested in writing since high school.
Twenty-nine year old Yemeni freelance sportswriter Ameera Bahedan had a similar experience. She was a pioneer in her country eight years ago, when she became the first to enter football and volleyball stadiums to cover sports. Though the number of women sportswriters went up to five, it has now fallen to three. “Intimidation kept following us, and though now you get to see Yemeni women cheering in football stadiums, as journalists, we women are still attacked to the extent that I can only cover women’s sports or just write an opinion column on a match without interviewing the men athletes,” she said.
In Sudan, there are at least 15 women sports journalists. Eiman Badawi, 31, from Al-Intibaha newspaper in Sudan, talked about the difficulties they face. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in media, and doing sports journalism for five years, Badawi said, “This is so far as far as we have been able to go.” She explained that women sports journalists usually cover all sports, excluding football. This she said, “makes us stand out on our beat but in the end, it is all about football, and priorities always go to football articles. This is because of the commercial importance of selling newspaper, and to sell them, there has to be football from cover to cover,” she said.
Also, the nature of their job could pose a problem when marriage is considered. “Sports journalism is not like other jobs; at one time you are covering a game and an hour later, you are somewhere else. It is hard for Middle Eastern men to deal with the fact they can’t track their women,” said Asma. Journalism in general is still a profession not very popular for wives, she pointed out.
Despite that, whenever a man proposed to her, she said, her father would ensure first that he had no objection to her profession, “because he knows how hard I worked to establish my name over the past year and a half and he does not want my work to go in vain, thank God,” she said. However, in Lebanon and Sudan it is different. “Men and society are more open to the idea as time goes by,” said Badawi. “It is not a problem any longer here in Lebanon. Not at all,” Abdullah added.
When it comes to competition between men and women, “We do not constitute a threat due to our small numbers,” said Abdullah. “We have five sports journalists in Lebanon because most of the other women journalists tend to specialize in politics and entertainment,” said Abdullah. Getting into sports and being one of the few women reporters, said Al-Hussain, “will give us the chance to distinguish ourselves at least for the meantime before our tribe increases.”
There are only three sports women journalists in Oman and “in the Gulf their kind are spoiled,” said Al-Zedjaly. Men sports journalists in the Gulf are somehow proud of them, consider them as one of the boys and offer them dignity, respect and a great deal of help. Al-Zedjaly hopes to make good use of the opportunities given to her and help discover new talents for the national women’s teams in volleyball, handball and basketball. She also looks forward to encouraging sportswomen in Oman.
Low pay, surprisingly, is not a problem. “Journalism is not only a profession; it is a calling and that is why we bear everything, even the low pay,” said Badawi.