Libya’s international woman’s football team, already under threat from religious extremists, has been banned from taking part in a major tournament next week by the country’s sporting authorities.
In a move likely to raise questions about its commitment to equal rights, Libya’s football association told the team it cannot fly to Germany on Saturday, citing concerns that it takes place within the holy month of Ramadan.
“The federation said you cannot play in Germany because of the need for fasting,” said midfielder Hadhoum el-Alabed. “We want to go but they say you cannot go.”
Libya had been due to play teams from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia and Germany in Discover Football, a tournament funded by the German government. It is billed as the biggest gathering of Middle-Eastern women’s footballers since the 2011 Arab spring.
El-Alabed, at 37 the oldest player in the squad and who played in Liverpool while earning a Phd in sports science, said the ban had shattered hopes that the fall of Gaddafi would bring social change. “Other teams can play [in Berlin], so why not us? If you could see the girls, when they were told, they were all crying.”
After initially giving permission for the tournament, Libya’s FA changed its mind. “It is Ramadan,” said the FA general secretary, Nasser Ahmed. “We are not against women playing football.”
Threats from Islamist radicals have already forced the team to train in secret, constantly switching venues and deploying armed guards.In June, Ansar al-Sharia, the militia linked by some with the killing of the US ambassador, Chris Stevens, in Benghazi last September, issued a statement saying it “severely condemned” women’s football
“This is something we cannot have because it does not confirm with sharia law,” it said. “It invites women to show off and wear clothes that are inappropriate.”Salim Jabar, one of Libya’s most popular television preachers, has demanded the women’s team disband, saying it was against the strictures of Islam.
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