Saudi Arabia Will Send Female Athlete/s To London Olympics

Saudi Arabia, al-Mamlakah al-ʻArabīyah as-Suʻūdīyah, the home of Mecca, the Kingdom which on September 25, 2011 finally announced that women might gain the right to vote, to stand in local elections, join the advisory Shura council.

Al Saud, where any public display of femininity is outlawed, where females are forbidden from driving motor vehicles and where sports events for women are banned, will now apparently allow females to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time.

The BBC quoted the Saudi embassy in London as saying its Olympic committee will “oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify”.

The issue of women in sport remains extremely sensitive in the ultra-conservative Muslim state, where  authorities shut down private gyms for women in 2010.

Equestrian contestant Dalma Malhas is likely to be the country’s only female athlete to qualify for this summer’s Games in London which get underway on July 27. Malhas, born in the United States, won a bronze medal at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics without having been nominated by her country, following an invitation from the International Olympic Committee :: Read the full article »»»»