Yasmine Abdulhafeez – Women in Development and Peace
Sports in Yemen have a long history, rich in achievements across various sports, leaving a clear mark at the local and international levels. In recent years, Yemeni women’s sports have emerged prominently, garnering significant attention and witnessing notable development. Through this, many female athletes have emerged who have achieved great success, inscribing their names in gold letters in the annals of Yemeni sports, alongside the achievements of their male counterparts.
Despite Yemen being a conservative country where women have a significant degree of specificity, it has witnessed a noticeable and apparent female presence in the sports sector. Yemeni women have actively participated in various local and international sports events, managing to win prestigious awards and participate in world championships, etching their names in the sports history record.
Phenomenal Female Efforts in the Past
Sports journalist Dunya Husain Farhan sheds light on the history of women’s sports in Yemen, its bright beginnings, and its struggles across the ages, in an interview with Women in Development and Peace newspaper.
Farhan points out that the roots of Yemeni women’s sports date back to the British occupation of the city of Aden in the south of the country, during which time there was a noticeable activity in various sports fields, with women participating in many games, most notably swimming, track and field, and taekwondo.
She continues, “The participation of Yemeni women in sports extends beyond the local level to significant international participations. Many Yemeni female athletes have excelled in various regional and global championships, winning gold and silver medals and others. These achievements were not happenstance; they are the result of heroic efforts of pioneering women, both players and administrators, who faced challenges with patience and determination, according to historical books and studies that highlight these achievements.”
She explains that the beginnings of women’s sports in Yemen traces back to schools, where some sports activities for girls were held. Over time, sports clubs adopted these activities, evolving to include various sports. This development was met with great popularity and attracted a wide audience of fans, contributing to the promotion of women’s sports culture during that period.
She adds, “The contributions of Yemeni women in sports were not limited to participation in games but also emerged as pioneering journalists in the sports field, contributing to conveying news of women’s sports to the public.”
As for the factors that helped develop women’s sports and flourish in the past, Dunya says, “Governmental interest was one of the most prominent factors that contributed to the flourishing of women’s sports; the British colonial presence in Aden provided significant interest in women’s sports, encouraging women’s participation in various sports activities, and that support played an important role in the emergence and development of women’s sports.”
She also explains that after the revolutions that the country witnessed during that period, some bodies and clubs contributed to the development of women’s sports, and the support did not stop at encouraging men to participate in the sports field but also extended to include women.
“Over time, women’s sports in Yemen experienced a significant decline during the past period, despite the presence of many distinguished Yemeni female players and administrators who participated in various international and Arab forums; this is mainly due to the neglect of the relevant authorities for women’s sports and the narrow view that restricted women’s participation in sports within specific scopes, without allowing for greater development, and this mentality negatively affected the proportion of women’s participation in various sports fields,” says Dunya Farhan.
She points out that the decline in women’s sports during the past years is due to the clubs’ waning interest in women’s sports, leading to a decrease in the number of players and the spread of societal norms opposing women’s practice of sports, their participation in external events, and wearing sports attire.
She adds, “Despite the efforts being made by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to revitalize women’s sports by organizing local championships in various games such as chess, tennis, and some track and field events, these participations are still limited. They are characterized by their internal and intermittent nature and do not reach the level of external participation that was prevalent in the past.”
Dunya emphasizes the need for concerted efforts from all concerned parties, from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Sports Federation to families, society, clubs, and offices interested in sports, to support Yemeni women in the sports field and enable them to practice all types of sports at the local and external levels.
A Historical Overview
The book “Aden Sports Association 1934-1967” by author Muhammad Abdu Ali shed light on a golden era in the history of sports in Yemen, reviewing the journey of various sports activities that took place during that period, starting from football and hockey to tennis and other games.
The book reveals the establishment of “Aden Sports Association” in 1934, thus becoming the first sports administration in the Arabian Peninsula, contributing significantly to organizing and developing sports in the region.
The book highlights the spread of sports in public and private schools during the 1930s, including athletics, football, cricket, tennis, hockey, volleyball, and table tennis.
Moreover, since the 1940s, Aden witnessed the dawn of women’s sports, driven by the interest of schools and the support of society, to become a journey full of achievements at the local, Arab, and international levels, according to the book “Aden Sports Clubs. Their Establishment and History” by the author Ahmad Muhsin Ahmad.
In the early 1960s, the prominent Adeni figure, Fawzia Ghanim, contributed to introducing basketball to “Crater Girls’ Elementary School,” which was an important step in diversifying the sports available to girls.
In 1975, Nawal Qasim Saif, a well-known Arab sports figure, was assigned to establish the Volleyball Federation in Aden, which included women in its membership. Nawal assumed its presidency after its establishment. Women in South Yemen also practiced many sports, such as tennis, table tennis, football, basketball, martial arts such as taekwondo, as well as mental sports such as chess.
The book mentioned that the achievements of women’s sports in Aden were not limited to the local level but extended to include distinguished participation in Arab and international sports competitions. In 1973, women from South Yemen participated in the Three Continents Table Tennis Championship in the People’s Republic of China. Female competitors also participated in the International Chess Championship in 1975, which was held in Libya, and one of the participating competitors won the bronze medal.
The success of women’s sports continued until new names and new successes emerged for women who broke into the sports sector in Yemen and completed the journey of the first female athletes who paved the way for others to enter a field that many members of society believed was exclusive to men.
Sources from the Ministry of Youth and Sports mentioned the most prominent female names that emerged in the field of women’s sports in Yemen, including Khairiya Abdul-Wasi’, Faiza Abdul-Raqeeb, Nawal Qasim Saif, Nadia Ahmad Yusuf, Fatima Muhammad Nasir, Luai Faisal Sabri, Ismat Ahmad Saeed, Lina Faisal Sabri, Samira Abdullah, and many others.
Current Efforts for the Return of Women’s Sports
Nadia Abdullah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, confirms that women’s sports in Yemen have a history full of achievements, as Yemeni female players have achieved many medals and prizes in various Arab and international forums. This is due to the positive changes that Yemeni society witnessed during that period, which led to greater acceptance of women’s participation in the sports field.
However, Nadia expresses her regret for the significant decline that women’s sports in Yemen have witnessed in recent years, as a result of several factors, perhaps the important ones are the lack of resources and the crises that have ravaged the country.
She pointed out that despite the presence of many youth sports federations, they are not functioning and have not yet recovered. So how will the clubs or interest in women’s sports return?! She emphasized the importance of concerted efforts by everyone for the return of women’s sports to its former glory in the past, as this will contribute greatly to empowering Yemeni women and enhancing their position in society.
Nadia compares the state of women’s sports in Yemen to the state of the country in general, indicating that it has suffered a major deterioration due to the conflict in Yemen, in addition to the damage to many sports buildings, stadiums, clubs, and sports halls. She affirms the ministry’s commitment to continuously seek to reactivate women’s sports in the country and revive it after years of decline. This will only be done by providing sports supplies to thousands of schools, reactivating sports classes, and qualifying female teachers to supervise the delivery of these classes.
Nadia continues to explain the efforts made by the ministry to revive women’s sports in Yemen, noting that there are significant challenges facing these efforts. Despite this, the Ministry of Youth and Sports is fully aware of these challenges and is working hard to overcome them by implementing plans to rebuild destroyed stadiums and sports halls, with a particular focus on providing closed sports halls for women.
Meanwhile, Bilal Al-Hakimi, Deputy Director of the Youth and Sports Office in Taiz, confirms the office’s commitment to supporting women’s sports in Yemen and enhancing women’s participation in various sports activities. He mentions that the beginning is from the school, which is the key to the success of women’s sports, but there are still significant challenges facing this field, most notably the lack of infrastructure and sports facilities dedicated to women and girls in most Yemeni regions, which limits their opportunities for practice and participation. In addition to the social and cultural challenges faced by women and girls who want to practice sports, such as the negative view of some members of society.
However, Al-Hakimi confirms that there are some pioneering initiatives and positive examples of Yemeni female athletes who have succeeded in representing their country locally, regionally, and internationally. He points out that promoting women’s sports in Yemen requires continuous efforts at various levels, from the government, the private sector, and civil society.
In the same context, Abdu Khamisi Kulaib Makki, General Director of the Youth and Sports Office in Hodeida, points out that the decline of women’s sports in Yemen is due to many factors, the most important of which are customs and traditions, the difficult living situation – especially these years – the social situation, the psychological factor, and the lack of sufficient attention by the concerned authorities.
Makki confirms that reviving women’s sports in Yemen is a collective responsibility and that many factors can contribute to achieving this, the most important of which are: raising awareness of the importance of women’s sports, holding seminars, qualification and training courses for women to encourage them to practice sports and develop their skills, and organizing workshops to discuss the challenges facing women’s sports in Yemen and ways to overcome them.
