|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Football in Turkey is very popular but differs from the rest of Europe in that it is still largely a man’s game, in fact in Europe only Turkey and Albania don’t have profesional women’s football leagues. There are women supporters but there are very few female footballers. The game did start to be played by women in Turkey but in 2003 the Turkish Women’s Professional Football League folded amidst much derision from men and bogus medical reports suggesting the "beautiful game" was detrimental to the female body. The official reasons for closing the league were just as unconvincing as the medical reports. Turkish Football Federation Planning and Devlopment Coordinator, Ahmet Güvener, claimed it was because women’s football was not properly or professionally managed but popular belief is that the real reason for closure was ‘undesirable’ romantic activity between players and trainers!
The league was however revamped and reopened in 2005 with a ‘Women are Coming’ tournament in Istanbul featuring 14 women’s teams battling for glory. The event attracted media attention but nowehere near as much as some village girls did just months later playing football in their own small town. In September 2005 twenty two local girls played a brief exhibition match during the half time period of a cup match between male teams. They called themselves Alyazmalıspor and Bindallıspor. Alyazmalıspor’s trainer Mehmet Demir welcomed his team onto the pitch with a pep talk, saying; ‘Come on girls, teach the boys how football is really played, play like gentlemen and no fouling.’ The girls came onto the pitch in regional dress with headscarves over their hair and holding banners that read ‘No to swearing and violence in sport’. After warming up in front of 2000 spectatos they played a game of two 10 minute halves.
The game was characterised by enthusiasm and rough play and two red cards and one yellow were shown. The final score was Alyazmalıspor 2 – Bindallıspor 0. What really captured the attention of the newspapers though was not the quality of play but the type of headgear the girls wore. Every story written called them variations of ‘Şalvarlı Spor’/‘The Covered Up Sport’s Team’. The girls said they had set up a team to show that Muslim girls could play active sports and they were looking for other teams to compete against. The head of Ereğli council, Halil Posbıyık, promised to help sponsor similar girls teams and provide them with kit and training, he said he was proud of the girl’s bravery and believed that their actions showed how modern and forward thinking his area was.
These Turkish girls are not the only Islamic women to tackle the thorny issue of appropriate dress for aerobic sports. In April 2005 Islamic hardiners in Pakistan attacked runners in a mixed sex race in Gujranwala and a ban on these types of races was introduced. Women’s football is also played in Pakistan although very conservative Muslims oppose the activity. The women players are fully covered in order to avoid offending Muslim sensibilities and no male spectators are allowed. In the 1992 Olympic Games, Algerian Hassiba Boulmerka won the 1500 meters in men’s shorts. Instead of celebrating the first Algerian to accomplish such a feat, fundamentalists denounced her victory for "running with naked legs in front of thousands of men" and Boulmerka was forced into exile following the Olympics because of death threats from her fellow countrymen.
In Iran womens’ sporting opportunities are limited because they have to wear a headscarf and long coat. One of the few sports they can compete in globally is shooting. Nineteen year old Nassim Hassanpour was the only female member of the Iranian Olympic team in 2004. She took part in the air rifle shooting competition but her first passion is not markmanship, it’s gymnastics (in which she cannot compete in globally because of the dress requirements and the mixed audience). Iranian women are increasingly turning to sports such as golf and riding where their strict dress code can be adhered to in public. Despite conforming to Islamic dress they are still hampered by lack of facilities o lack of access to facilities. Most golf clubs only allow women to play in the mornings and Tehran’s largest sports club has 6 times as many courts for men than it does for women.
Competitions designed for Muslim women do take place though. The 3rd Muslim Womens’ Games were held in Tehran in December 2005 and around 800 women from all over the Islamic world attended to compete. The Games were only open to men and photographic media during the opening ceremonies when the women were covered and thereafter there were no male spectators or supporters and no male trainers or physios. Photography was also not allowed. İn an all femlae environment the women were free to take part in all the sporting events dressed in shorts, t-shirts and even swimming costumes. The abilities of the teams varied widely from amateurs like the British women’s football team who train only once a week on an indoor pitch with a not stuck on the door saying ‘Women Only’ to professionals like the Iranian squad who are a recognised national team intensively trained by a Brazilian coach and supported by the government. Although the promoters of the Games would like it to become an Islamic rival to the Olympics it is difficult to see how they might publicise the games in today’s modern media world without photographs.Some astute entrepeneurs have chosen to exploit the niche market of culturally sensitive sportswear. Dutch designer Cindy van den Bremen has created the Capster a sleek head covering made from stretchy fabric that covers the head and neck. The Capster claims to make it possible for women to participate in physical activity without having to worry about a shfting headscarf. Van den Bremen came up with the idea after hearing that Muslim girls were skipping gym classes at school because they didn’t have a viable alternative to hijabs (which are not allowed in Holland for safety reasons). Although she showed her product to major sportswear labels Van den Bremen had no uptake, the companies expressed an interest but said the concept ‘didn’t fit’ their brands. The Capsters are however available for 22,5 Euros from the company’s website www.capsters.com. There is one for aerobics, skating, tennis and outdoor wear but sadly none for football!
|
|
|
|
|
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
Greek or Turkish? |
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
Gimme a break |
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
New Country New Start |
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
Character properties |
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
Traffic Fines and how to avoid them |
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
Travelling and Toilets |
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
Grave Humour |
| 08 Kasım 2008, Cumartesi |
Ribella |
| 16 Temmuz 2008, Çarşamba |
Turkish roofs are tops |
| 10 Temmuz 2008, Perşembe |
Blunder of burglaries |
|
