Muslim Women and Sport

Tansin Benn, Gertrud Pfister, Haifaa Jawad

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780415490764
• eBook ISBN: 9781134008506
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Gender Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Examining the global experiences, challenges and achievements of Muslim women participating in physical activities and sport, this important new study makes a profound contribution to our understanding of both contemporary Islam and the complexity and diversity of women's lives in the modern world.

The book presents an overview of current research into constructs of gender, the role of religion and the importance of situation, and looks closely at what Islam has to say about women's participation in sport and what Muslim women themselves have to say about their participation in sport. It highlights the challenges and opportunities for women in sport in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries, utilizing a series of extensive case-studies in various countries which invite the readers to conduct cross-cultural comparisons. Material on Iraq, Palestine and Bosnia and Herzegovina provides rare insights into the impact of war on sporting activities for women. The book also seeks to make important recommendations for improving access to sport for girls and women from Muslim communities.

Muslim Women and Sport confronts many deeply held stereotypes and crosses those commonly quoted boundaries between 'Islam and the West' and between 'East and West'. It makes fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the interrelationships between sport, religion, gender, culture and policy.

Part I
Underlying concepts

1
Reaffirming the values of physical education, physical activity and sport in the lives of young Muslim women

Symeon Dagkas, Maryam Koushkie Jahromi and Margaret Talbot

Editors’ introduction

The chapter reaffirms the values of physical education, physical activity and sport in the lives of young Muslim women by beginning with a review of macro support dimensions in the form of international declarations and government commitments that support the right of all people to participation in these areas. The disadvantaged position of women necessitated specific attention, as did the position of Muslim women. The authors move on to review the literature on physical activity and health, with particular attention to ethnic diversity and physical activity health issues. Issues of religiosity, as well as the interface of faith and arenas of physical activity for girls, are discussed, as are possible structural barriers to faith identity in Muslim minority contexts. It is recognised that positive or negative attitudes towards sport-related activities are shaped in micro situations, participation environments and interactions with teachers/coaches and peers. While, in Islamic countries such as Iran, sporting structures build in Islamic requirements for modesty in dress and sex segregation, Muslim women in more Westernised contexts can struggle to find conducive environments in which to practise physical activity. One case study that sought local solutions to parental withdrawal of Muslim girls from physical education in England is shared.

The international case for physical activity, physical education and sport

There have been many declarations and statements about the value of physical education, physical activity and sport during the last three decades (see Talbot 2000, 2006, 2010). They outline (and some provide evidence for) a range of physical, social, educational and health benefits; and, also, many claim positive intellectual outcomes (see Bailey 2004, 2010). Such documents provide useful levers for those wishing to influence policy, provision or investment at the national level, but their effectiveness is often limited because leaders can be unaware of the commitments which their own governments have made. However, declarations and statements do provide well-articulated cases for the values of participation, which allowed, for example, the ‘Accept and Respect’ declaration to ‘affirm the importance of physical education and physical activity in the lives of all girls and boys, men and women’.

The Convention of the Rights of the Child (United Nations 1989) stipulates that all children have a right to: (1) the highest level of health; (2) free and compulsory primary education for both cognitive and physical development (authors’ emphasis); (3) rest and leisure; play and recreation. These provisions are directly relevant when considering Muslim girls’ access to sport and physical education, since the UN describes the Rights as ‘Universal’. It is perhaps worth noting that the UK government has only very recently committed to it, 30 years after it was approved by the UN General Assembly. These Rights were quoted in the Berlin Agenda (ICSSPE 1999), issued as the outcome of the First World Summit on Physical Education, and endorsed as the Declaration of Punta del Este (MINEPS III, 1999). These Declarations on behalf of physical education were themselves developments of the International Charter on Physical Education and Sport, issued by UNESCO in 1978, whose Article 1 asserted: ‘The practice of physical education and sport is a fundamental right for all.’ The male-gendered language used in the Charter may be in conflict with the commitment for inclusion in its Articles; but it has been one of the benchmarks for those working to improve access to physical education and sport.

Following the international activities that promoted the values of physical education, especially to young people, the international women and sport movement adopted similar tactics, with the Brighton Declaration of 1994, arguably one of the most influential levers in securing government commitment to extending and improving access for women to sport and physical activity (Houlihan and White 2002; Kluka 2008). It has been followed by a range of associated statements and action programmes (for example, see Talbot 1997), and has led to concrete outcomes such as the formation of the Arab Association for Women and Sport in 1995, and a series of international conferences led by the Faculty of Physical Education for Girls of the University of Alexandria, Egypt. Muslim women working in physical education and sport used these, as well as other opportunities, to voice their concerns and frustrations about their marginalised position in many countries’ sport policies, and their impatience with Western perceptions of Muslim women as being uninterested or unable to participate in sport and physical activity. It was within this context that in 1999, the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women adopted, as a strategic priority, the promotion of physical education and sport specifically with Muslim women. This commitment by IAPESGW’s members and leaders, and determined networking and collaboration, eventually led to the study week in Oman, which established the ‘Accept and Respect’ Declaration. This was achievable because of the previous articulation of the values of physical activity, sport and physical education by international sport leaders and organisations; and the assertion of access to physical activity as a universal human right.

Physical activity and health

Recent social, environmental and technological changes, such as accessibility of high-calorie foods, computer games and transport, have contributed to increased sedentary behaviours in young people (Fairclough et al. 2002, cited in Dagkas and Stathi 2007: 369). Research supports the view that involvement in physical activity contributes to numerous health benefits (such as prevention of obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) and the well-being of people (Duncan et al. 2004; Hardman and Stensel 2003).

The health benefits of physical activity are well established, with regular participation in physical activity associated with better and longer quality of life. Hardman and Stensel (2003: 14) define physical activity as ‘any bodily movement produced by contraction of skeletal muscle that substantially increases energy expenditure’. Physical activity is a comprehensive concept. It encompasses many other terms related to physical exertion, such as work, sports, exercise, recreation, play, training, workouts, physical education, athletics and gymnastics (Astrand et al. 2003).

Descriptive and experimental studies have suggested that regular physical exercise may be associated with reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, and have consistently found that more active individuals report lower depression scores than more sedentary individuals (Faulkner and Taylor 2005). Depression is associated with increased risk of physical and functional decline, cognitive impairment, institutionalisation, frailty, life-threatening malnutrition and weight loss, psychological distress, low self-esteem, negative interpretation of everyday perceptions and non-adherence to pharmacotherapy for chronic disease (Faulkner and Taylor 2005). According to Taylor and Faulkner (2005), there is tentative support for the view that participating in exerice and physical activity is associated with alleviation of negative symptoms connected with depression and low self-esteem.

Hardman and Stensel (2003) document that physical inactivity has been linked to the increase in obesity levels amongst children and adults in Western societies. Technological changes are attributed to changes in behavioural patterns that are linked with increased levels of obesity. Cardiovascular disease accounts for almost one-third of global deaths, with incidents rising, too, in developing countries (Hardman and Stensel 2003). However, according to Boreham and Riddoch (2003) the research evidence for the life-long benefits of physical activity for health is weak, and no studies have adequately recorded birth-to-death information relating physical activity to health. Longitudinal research of this kind is challenging and expensive, but given the importance of the topic, this is a notable gap in the research. Several national and international organisations have supported the promotion of physical activity as an important health behaviour in policy documents (Biddle and Mutrie 2008) and government policies in the UK have targeted specific groups identified as ‘sedentary’.

In multi-cultural societies in the West, ethnic minority groups and women head national tables on all-cause mortality and poor health. All-cause mortality is especially high amongst men of ethnic minority groups, and poor health and high morbidity and mortality rates have been identified among Muslim women of Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent in the UK. Inactivity and certain lifestyle choices are seen by epidemiologists (see Sallis and Owen 1999) as reasons for poor health among ethnic minority groups. The importance of learning to be active from an early age has also been documented. Many young ethnic-minority girls have been identified as sedentary in their everyday life. This is particularly true of Muslim girls, and is related to barriers that restrict their participation in physical activity. Research (see Benn 2002; Benn et al. 2010; Dagkas and Benn 2006) indicates that participation rates of young UK Muslim women in physical activity settings in and out of school are rising, but are still relatively low. Despite global advocacy for the importance of physical education and physical activity, Muslim girls and women have fewer opportunities to participate compared with their male counterparts.

Since the early 1990s, research has identified areas of tension between cultural practices of Islam and physical education in schools in Western contexts (Carroll and Hollinshead 1993). The voices of Muslim girls and women of diverse ethnicities remain relatively silent – or, perhaps more accurately, the impact of Muslim voices remains undetectable despite efforts from recent research to produce evidence of ‘lived experiences’ of Muslim girls (see Benn et al. 2010; Dagkas et al. 2010; Macdonald et al. 2009). It is imperative to explore the barriers to participation in physical activity settings and reaffirm the values of physical activity in the lives of young Muslim women.

‘Religiosity’, girls and physical activity

Religion is an under-researched domain as an influence on the social self and body cultures, particularly in the fields of education and sport. Islam has a global status and has been acknowledged as the second largest religion in the world. Specifically, Muslims make up approximately 4 per cent of Europe’s population, with almost 9 per cent of the population in France (Green 2008). They remain the second largest religious group in Britain with almost 3 per cent of the population (Benn 1998). According to Dagkas and Benn (2006), Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the West and many Diaspora communities are growing in Western countries, with most of the increased ethnic-minority groups in the UK being Asian of Islamic heritage with their origins in Bangladesh or Pakistan. Demographic trends are significant. According to the 2001 UK census, the ‘mixed-race’ population ‘category’ contains 50 per cent of youngsters below 16 years of age (Green 2008: 172). The particular mixes and cultural identities constitute what Dagkas and Benn (2006) identify as ‘cultures of hybridity’, issues of fluid cultural and religious interpretation that contribute to the development of different cultures of physicality where movement and par...

Table of contents

• International studies in physical education and youth sport
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Contributors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I Underlying concepts
• Part II National perspectives
• Part III Case studies
• Part IV Narratives
• Index