| HomeNewsGame PlanBackgroundSpots & VideosEventsFansTeamNWNP Spots |
Latest news
- No Women. No Play by Ani Zonneveld
- Saudi Gender Apartheid VS. S. African Racial Apartheid
- Press Release: UK Parliament Event to Discuss IOC Violation of the Olympic Charter by Not Banning Saudi Arabia from Olympics
- Call to Protest at the Olympics Opening Ceremony
- URGENT ACTION: The IOC is Ignoring GENDER APARTHEID
Game Plan
No Women No Play is an umbrella project of Hadi Al Mutif Program for Human Rights at the Institute for Gulf Affairs. The No Women No Play campaign has been created to allow women in Saudi Arabia to attain full political, social economic and legal rights. We plan to achieve this by banning Saudi Arabia from the Olympics until the kingdom abides by the Olympic Charter, and allow women in Saudi Arabia to fulfill their right to participate in sports and society.
Saudi Arabia is in violation of this charter, and yet the international community has continued to allow the kingdom to participate. Saudi Arabia is the only country that outright bans women from sports. The kingdom bans women from sports involvement in all aspects suc athletes, managers, trainers, and coaches.
This behavior sharply contrasts the principals of the Olympic Charter, which states the Fundamental Principles of the Olympics:
4. The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. The organization, administration and management of sport must be controlled by independent sports organizations. (pg. 11)
5. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.
(pg. 11)
7. To encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women;
45 Invitations and Entries* (pg. 84)
2. Only NOCs recognized by the IOC may enter competitors in the Olympic Games. Any entry is subject to acceptance by the IOC, which may at its discretion, at any time, refuse any entry, without indication of grounds. Nobody is entitled to any right of any kind to participate in the Olympic Games.
The No Women No Play Campaign believes that Saudi Arabia is in violation of the Olympic Charter and needs to be banned from the Olympics until the country can reform its policies. The international community has done this in past. Take for instance South Africa, which was excluded from the Olympic Games in 1964 for its apartheid policies, and eventually the country felt the pressure, changed its policies, and now allows all qualified individuals to play on their Olympic teams. The No Women No Play Campaign believes that we must pressure the Al- Saud absolute monarchy to abide by the Olympic charter, and allow women to participate in the Olympics. Eventually this will lead to participation in society.
According to Nawal El-Moutawakel, the Moroccan Olympic Champion in the 400m race and a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1995, in an interview with the Swiss Academy for Development she once said:
"Women's participation in sport is a reflection of the position of women in society in general. The entrance of women into these sporting spaces often coincides with women's entrance and active participation in civil society and politics."
Now is the time to demand that Saudi Arabia abide by the Olympic Charter just as the rest of the world must and stop discriminating against their citizens. We can no longer allow Saudi Arabia to be the exception to the rule. The time to act is now and we must ban Saudi Arabia from the 2012 Olympic Games until the kingdom can comply with the Charter, and allow all members of society to practice their human right to participate in sports. It is imperative that the international community step up, and not allow this injustice to continue any longer.
Subscriber
Spotlight
Saudi Arabia: Let Women Vote, Run for Office
No Excuse for Exclusion From Upcoming Municipal Elections
March 31,2011
The government of Saudi Arabia cannot expect Saudi women to believe that a lack of preparation is behind the denial of their rights to political participation. This was a preposterous excuse in 2005, and even more so now. This crude sex discrimination is an insult to millions of Saudi women.
Nadya Khalife, Middle East women’s rights researcher
(Beirut) - The Saudi government's refusal to let women vote in municipal elections in September 2011 unlawfully deprives women of their rights to full and equal status under the law, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the election committee to allow women to vote and to run for seats on the municipal councils.
On March 28, 2011, ‘Abd al-Rahman Dahmash, president of the general committee for the election of municipal council members, said, "We are not prepared for the participation of women in the municipal elections now." He promised that women will be allowed to participate in the future.
Read more:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/31/saudi-arabia-let-women-vote-run-officeWatch Video