So will Saudi Arabia be allowed (by the IOC) to get away with not sending any female athletes because they just can't find any?
The top choice, equestrian Dalma Rushdi Malhas, cannot attend.
Will the IOC allow Saudi officials to say "well, we tried."
I hope not. So do others.
This is a very strong editorial about why the IOC should ban the entire Saudi Olympic team if it does not contain any women.
The author rightly notes that wild cards are available--and surely the IOC will grant them given their stake in this situation--to athletes who do not meet Olympic qualifying standards.
But even if that was not the case--would it be ok for the Saudis to say--well, give us some more time? This has been an ongoing issue. It is not about time, it is about culture.
On a related note, FIFA has (finally) said it will allow players to wear the hijab.
2 comments:
Oh yeah, the Saudis will allow any women who qualify to participate. But they won't hold qualifiers in Saudi Arabia and they offer no institutional support for women to compete in regional qualifiers. The IOC should bar them from the games, but they won't.
thanks for giving me information about saudis.
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