Letters to the Editor
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Please leave Rosa Parks out of it.
The girls can participate as long as they follow the rules. Back under segregation, blacks could not participate, EVEN IF they followed the rules. It's two different things.
It is that simple. FOllow the rules. I play volleyball (when I am not incapacitated). No jewelry, scarves, etc for liability/safety reasons. As captain, guess who enforces it. I've seen accidents, etc, from scarves and jewelry. Muslims girls here understand that. THey either take off the headscarves or don't play.
Having played sports in school, I also know that regulations and prohibitations (remember the NBA thing with socks, jewelry, and "gagstawear" prohibitations a few years back) are not about multicultural sensitivity or cultural oppression(I'm black, so don't start). Preserving the heritage of the sport, historical character, etc is important. To participate in a sport is about being part of a community with regulations. These "uniforms" are as much about discipline and achieving against a uniform constraint as anything else.
Ironically, a number of minorities use certain sports to enter mainstream life because it is hard to argue with performance. Other activities are so much more "subjective".
If the federation says no, don't do it. The other tournaments, to be honest, were probably lower status or rank. As you go up, the refs will be more tight.
Martial arts teach discipline. The parents knew about the uniform issue when they signed up. I don't think this is racist.
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Girl's football
Dear T.C-F, Why is the the hijab-wearing girl in the photo carrying a rugby ball ?
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Looking up at the Ivory Tower from the ground
Mr. Behrend: What "Canadian culture" do I speak of?
I speak, of course, of the Canadian culture that views women as human beings of equal independence and dignity, in stark contrast to the Islamic view of women as inferior objects that must be covered and controlled so as not to "tempt" men. I note that you had no response to the quotations about hijab from the religious authorities of this culture you are so zealous to defend. Is that because cultural "fecundation" is only acceptable when it travels in one direction -- from the minority to the majority? And what is more essentialist -- viewing women as meat that must be covered or else it can be freely attacked, or simply pointing out the position of these religious authorities?
Given your enthrallment to French cultural theory, a review of the position of "Ni Putes, Ni Sumises" on hijab might be informative for you. These are women in France who are actually living through Muslim "fecundation" of French secular society -- complete with forced covering, social isolation, rape, mutilation, and honor killing -- and don't like it a bit. To them, hijab is a powerful symbol that Islamic rules should, and will soon, apply to all of society, not just the more pious practitioners of the ideology.
Islam is not just a private religious practice. It is also a legal code that demands the separation, control, and subjugation of women. Hijab is a clear symbol of the acceptance of that ideology. And unlike airy theorizing, it has a real impact on real people -- just ask the Danish or Australian women targeted for violent assault because they were "uncovered meat."
In short, when hijabis don the "rape somebody else" scarf, they are injecting the Islamic social norm and expectation of brutality against noncompliant women into my society. Pardon me -- and the Canadians -- if we don't want to be "fecundized" quite that way.
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The uniform means something
As someone who does taekwondo, I think I should point out that the uniform is not only for safety reasons. When you put it on and go out into the arena, you're showing solidarity with other participants. The only distinguishing mark is your belt color, which you have earned. I practice with a janitor, a Presbyterian minister, a schoolteacher and a university professor. The minute they put on their uniforms they are neither below or above me. That is the message my teacher gave me on the day I started as a white belt and people should be aware of this aspect.
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fyi on photo of "footballers"
although in some countries "footballers" refers only to rugby players, just to clarify for american readers, these women are playing rugby. the best game on earth!
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no ivory tower here kasimira
kas, my knowledge of islam is derived from a combination of 10 years living and working on the streets in a muslim country, mastering several important muslim languages, and reading lots and lots of books/materials from a variety of viewpoints. i read traditional qur'anic exegesis, islamo-punk novels, endless streams of pietistic chloroform in addition to french critical theory. also maintain subscriptions to local popular islamic magazines, journals and publications through my research assistant on the ground there. and cultivate contacts and engage in continuous conversation with a whole range of muslims, from atheists to progressive political activists to quietist mystics to moderate academics and public servants to angry leaders of hardline organisations (some of whom/which are condemned by the u.s. government). is that match the pie-in-the-sky cum head-up-the-ass sort of person you had in mind when you put me up in the "ivory tower"?
tim