Great Trend in the Muslim World

The empowerment of women through sports seems to be a nice little trend in some Muslim nations these days.

Yemen, set near Saudia Arabia and Oman, recently played host to 33 nations participating in the 3^rd Asian Conference on Women in Sports. The theme of the conference was the empowerment of women through participation in sports and physical education. The Yemeni government, which seems to be a strong supporter of this initiative, even plans to contract female coaches to train Yemenis and improve women’s sports in the tiny nation. The Asian Working Group plans to invite women from Yemen to Japan for training on women and sports, so that they can return home and use sports as a way to empower women in their own country. The event included delegates from Qatar, India and Singapore.

Impressively, Yemen’s Prime Minister Ba-Jammkal stated, “We in Yemen are looking for all ways to eliminate female oppression and sports is one of the things that will help women exert their rights.”

And just in time for what the UN has marked as the international year for sports and physical education, is what must be among the world’s largest all-women sporting events… in Casablanca!

This year organizers of the “Run for Fun” expect to attract more than 20,000 participants. Women from all over  Morocco and several other countries are expected to participate. This year’s race, the 7th “Run for Fun,” just happens to coincide with Who knew?!