“I was surprised to receive a letter from the Ministry of Education questioning me about the competition and the reason why it was held in the first place. I also received a huge number of letters and telephone calls from conservative Saudi men and sheikhs who said that I should’ve known better and advised me not to hold such competitions in the future because it’s not lady-like,” said Farida Farsi, chairman of the board of directors at Al-Hamra Schools.
The investigation has been launched after 200 schoolgirls from six high schools in Jeddah competed in a sports competition at Effat University’s sports facilities on Dec. 8. The competition, dubbed a first-of-its-kind event by its organizers, saw girls competing in basketball, badminton, athletics and swimming.
However, conservative elements within society have begun harassing the schools that participated in the competition, describing their actions as similar to those of non-Muslims and that the organizers would go to hell for making schoolgirls think about sports.
“After the competition, I received more than 60 messages from anonymous people demanding I stop girls from taking part in sports, and that this is a boys-only activity and not for girls,” said Sameera Al-Harakan, administrator at Al-Ferdous Schools.
“They also threatened to report us to the Ministry of Education for taking photos of the girls and giving them to newspapers. Later on, the ministry sent over people to question us. They said that it’s against the rules to let girls compete in sporting events and then publish their pictures in newspapers, even if they are fully covered,” she added.
“I believe this is ridiculous because young girls need to invest their time and energy in something good like sports. Sporting activities are like food for the body and soul, and known to be the number one anti-depression medication for people,” said Lina Almaeena, cofounder and director of the Jeddah United Sports Company and captain of the Jeddah United basketball team.
“What other substitute does the ministry have for young girls? Are they fine with them smoking and hanging out in shopping centers and cafés in their free time? I believe sporting activities are the best alternatives and a good source for schoolgirls to spend their free time,” she added.
Ahmed Al-Zahrani, director of the Girls Education Department in Jeddah, said the schools that participated in the competition have broken Ministry of Education rules and will be investigated. He added that the ministry will hold meetings and then decide what to do.
“We don’t have any regulations that say that it’s okay for girl schools to hold sports classes or training. This tournament was held by these schools, something that has now led us to know about their illegal activities,” he said.
“They should have requested a meeting with the Ministry of Education, but they went behind our backs and held the competition without us knowing,” he added.
Commenting on the students’ pictures published in the media, he said, “It’s an issue of personal freedom and we don’t want to get into these small details. As long as their legal guardians are fine with that, we have no objections.”
