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Out of Bounds: Cultural Barriers to Female Sports Participation in Qatar

2012; Routledge; Volume: 29; Issue: 15 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09523367.2012.721595

1743-9035

Geoff Harkness,

Physical Education and Pedagogy

Abstract For the past 20 years, female athletic participation in the Middle East has been increasing. In the conservative Gulf region, female athleticism has been met with a degree of ambivalence, as questions arise over the appropriate role for women in society. While female sports have been studied in Gulf countries such as Kuwait and Bahrain, the region's burgeoning superpower, Qatar, remains underexamined. The present research fills this gap by exploring issues for female athletes in Doha, the nation's capital and most populous city. Female athletes in Qatar encounter numerous barriers to participation, including issues related to religion, family and changing gender dynamics. While female athletic participation is on the upswing in Qatar, overall rates of involvement remain somewhat low. This article examines the cultural barriers that inhibit female sports participation in Qatar. Keywords: Middle EastQatarwomensportsparticipationculture Notes 1. Six Middle-Eastern nations comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates. 2. Bahrain: Al-Ansari, 'Women in Sports Leadership', 2011; Egypt: Walseth and Fasting, 'Islam's View', 2003; Iran: Pfister, 'Women and Sport in Iran', 2003; Iraq: Soubhi, 'A Physical Education', 1977; Oman: Al-Sinani and Benn, 'The Sultanate of Oman', 2011; Palestine: Gieb-Stuber et al., 'Palestinian Women's', 2011; Syria: Karfoul, 'Women and Sport in Syria', 2011; Turkey: Koca and Hacisoftaoglu, 'Struggling for Empowerment', 2011; the United Arab Emirates: Gaad, 'A Case Study', 2011; the Middle East as a whole: Sfeir, 'The Status of Muslim Women', 1985. 3. Qatar Olympic Committee, 28. 4. Kay, 'Daughters of Islam', 371. 5. Greenfield, Beth, 'The Worlds Richest Countries', Forbes, 22 February 2012. 6. Qatar Information Exchange, http://www.qix.gov.qa 7. Qatar Statistics Authority, http://www.qsa.gov.qa 8. 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