While out for dinner the other night, my wife looking over a table of young girls barely into their teens, turned to me and said, “Isn’t it ironic that these girls are freely allowed to smoke the argeela (water pipe) which is so harmful to their health and yet are denied the opportunity for physical education in their schools?”
As I turned my attention to the group seated at the table and happily engrossed in animated conversation with each other while busily puffing away at their individual water pipes, I felt a pang of pain.
These girls were not much over 16 or 17 years of age. And here they were sucking up to a fast-rising social phenomenon that has crossed over the age barrier and now is a fad among the young. From the experienced manner in which each girl was handling her water pipe, I wondered if they realized the consequences of such social habits to their health.
And then I reflected on a recent letter I had received from a lady university professor who was elated when her pupils were allowed to play soccer on a soccer field against girls of another university. While her elation was justified in the face of past opposition to such activities by our girls, my concern was over the “under-the-wraps” approach that event was handled by.
Why are we so afraid to allow our girls to participate in physical education activities in our schools? Why could we not have sent a delegation of Saudi female athletes to an all-women’s athletic meet of Gulf Cooperation Council members being held in Kuwait, as other countries of the GCC have done? Saudi Arabia is a prominent member of the GCC, and for it to fail in its obligations toward its female athletes is not an encouraging sign.
It is certainly not that our religion forbids such activities, and judging from the reactions of most of those around me, it is certainly not many of the people either. Than why do we continue to bar physical activities that encourage the promotion of health among our girls and women?
Are we afraid of empowering women or allowing them control over their own bodies?
Do we fear that by providing them such an opportunity, we are leading them to a path of deviancy and depravation? Why do we men assume such nobility upon ourselves and yet deny those very rights to our womenfolk?
Some would say our society does not allow such activities. “Balderdash” is my response. Our society, which some have perversely twisted to mean such a “special place” is no different from any other Muslim country. We are no better or worse than people elsewhere.
And until we get that through our heads, that we are in no way different or special from others, we will continue to wallow in such deplorable customs that allow young girls to puff away their health, and yet be denied to sweat away their energies in a more productive fashion.
If small groups of people insist on imposing their extreme views on school authorities, the Ministry of Education must resist such callous and irrational arguments and be bold enough to declare physical education as part of the syllabus in girls schools for the coming year.
By providing such an outlet, perhaps some of these girls may be discouraged from letting their health go up in smoke.
