Women in Sports in the Middle East

For centuries, women in the Middle East have faced significant cultural and societal barriers when it comes to participating in sports. However, times are changing, and a growing movement of passionate female athletes, advocates, and organisations are paving the way for greater inclusion and opportunities in the world of sports across the region. In this post we will have a look at how things have changed and how things are improving.

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With the Olympics around the corner and so many great sports initiatives in the Gulf region, let’s have a look at some of the Women Athletes making waves in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region:

1. Fatima Al-Nabhani (Oman) – Al-Nabhani is a professional tennis player from Oman and the first Omani woman to play professional tennis. She has won several ITF singles and doubles titles and represented Oman in various international competitions.

2. Zahra Lari (United Arab Emirates) – Lari is a figure skater from the UAE and the first Emirati woman to compete in figure skating at an international level. She has participated in several World Championships and is a trailblazer for the sport in the Gulf region.

3. Yasmeen Al-Dabbagh (Saudi Arabia) – Al-Dabbagh is a professional basketball player and the first Saudi woman to play basketball professionally in the United States. She has played for several teams in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and is a role model for young Saudi women in sports.

4. Sarah Attar (Saudi Arabia): Sarah made history as one of the first two female athletes to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics in 2012. She competed in the 800 meters at the London Games, symbolising a significant step forward for women’s sports in Saudi Arabia.

5. Fatima Al Ali (UAE): Fatima is a prominent figure in the world of ice hockey, an unconventional sport in the Gulf region. As a member of the UAE women’s national ice hockey team, she has not only excelled on the ice but also advocated for greater female participation in sports

6. Nada Al Bedwawi (UAE): Nada is a swimmer who gained recognition for her participation in the 2016 Rio Olympics as the first female Emirati swimmer to compete at the Games. She has broken barriers in swimming and continues to inspire young athletes in the UAE.

7. Raha Moharrak (Saudi Arabia) – Moharrak is a Saudi Arabian mountaineer and the first Saudi woman to conquer Mount Everest. In 2013, she became a global inspiration when she successfully summited the world’s highest peak as part of the first-ever Saudi female team to attempt the feat.

8. Yusra Mardini (Syria) – Yusra is a Syrian refugee swimmer who gained international recognition for her incredible journey to safety and her subsequent achievements in the sporting world. In 2015, during her perilous journey fleeing war-torn Syria, Mardini and her sister had to jump into the water and swim for three hours, pushing their sinking boat to shore, ultimately saving the lives of 20 fellow refugees. In 2016, Mardini competed as part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team at the Rio Olympics, where she participated in the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle events.

Saudi has particularly moved fast promoting sports and letting women participate more than ever and here are some interesting accomplishments:

• In 2018, a royal decree allowed families to enter stadiums. Attendance at sporting games increased by 152 percent.
• 25 federations now have a national women’s team.
• 30 federations have at least one female board director.
• 67 percent of the Community Sport Groups have members that are women.
• 66 female athletes competed in eight sports and won 11 medals during the Gulf Cooperation Council Games in 2019.
• 21 female athletes competed in the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019. They took home 29 medals.
• 72 female athletes played during the Arab Women Sports Tournament in Sharjah in 2020, the largest female delegation in Saudi as of August 2020. They won 12 medals.

To celebrate Women in Sports in the MENA region, WiMENA is holding their inaugural conference on 6th June 2024 in London at Chelsea Football Stadium. You can get tickets on the official WiMENA website.

The event has world class speakers such as HRH Prince Khalid bin Bandar Alsaud (Saudi Ambassador to the UK), Simon Penney CMG (Former HM Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and HM Consul General to Dubai), Sarah Bern (England Rugby Player), Nino Severino (Former Olympic & British No.1 Tennis Coach), Janie Frampton OBE (Vice President of the International Federation for Sports Officials and the Greater Birmingham Global Chamber of Commerce) and many more – you can see the full line up here.

The event aims to bring to not only to encourage women to access commercial opportunities for themselves or for the businesses they represent, but also to ensure that they are not marginalised across all sectors of business and society with of course plenty of opportunities to network.