Ahmed Bajoaim – Women in Development and Peace
Youth initiatives in Yemen continue to play a pivotal role in supporting the women’s sports movement. They strive to empower women and encourage their active participation in various sports. These initiatives confront the social, cultural, and economic challenges hindering Yemeni women’s involvement in sports. They contribute significantly to improving the reality of women’s sports and constitute a strong impetus towards progress.
The activities of these initiatives vary. They include organizing training courses that provide women with new athletic skills and develop their capabilities in various sports fields. They also hold awareness-raising events and festivals that promote the importance of sports for women. They also organize local championships and activities, both within the different Yemeni governorates and at the national level in general.
These initiatives have contributed to raising awareness about the importance of sports for women and helped build a more inclusive society that supports gender equality in various fields. Through this report, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the role of these initiatives in supporting women’s sports, highlighting the challenges they face and the positive impact they have on society.
The Role of Initiatives
Sports journalist Suad Tahir, who leads a sports initiative, believes that the women’s sports sector in Yemen faces significant challenges today. The most prominent of these challenges is the lack of youth initiatives concerned with promoting women’s participation in various sports activities. Despite the existence of some initiatives, they are often limited to men, without giving women their full share of attention and support.
She explained that her initiative sought to implement a women’s marathon in Sana’a, but lack of funding and other factors led to the suspension of this initiative. She stressed that despite the lack of a sufficient official role in supporting women’s sports, youth initiatives represent the cornerstone for activating this sector and creating an enabling environment for Yemeni women to participate in various sports activities.
Tahir added that there are promising signs of a renaissance in the women’s sports sector after the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Emerging youth initiatives in this field embody the aspirations of Yemeni girls to practice sports and achieve excellence by organizing various sports activities for girls within sports clubs, universities, and schools. These activities include practicing games such as boxing, for which local championships are held at the club level.
She pointed out that youth initiatives are striving to provide the offices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and various sports federations with programs and activities for women’s sports in various games, hoping that they will be adopted, supported, and implemented on the ground.
For her part, Fatima Al-Shami, a member of the technical administration of the Yemeni Olympic Committee, affirmed the committee’s leading role in supporting sports activities in general, with special attention paid to women’s sports, especially in light of the difficult circumstances Yemen is going through. The Yemeni Olympic Committee is the only sports body in Yemen that continues to support sports activities and contributes to the continuation of training in promising centers.
She explained that the committee pays special attention to women’s sports by continuing to support the practice of many games, including table tennis, athletics, fencing, shooting, archery, and judo.
Al-Shami believes that youth initiatives play an important role in setting plans and programs that enhance women’s participation in the sports field by implementing programs and activities that focus on male and female athletes and contribute to developing their skills in various fields, including psychological support and combating doping.
In the same context, Ali Musaid, Director of the Activities and Student Services Department at the Office of the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training in the Hadhramaut Coast, spoke about the role of youth initiatives in activating women’s sports. He pointed out that among the tasks of youth initiatives launched by the Activities and Student Services Department is the activation of sports and cultural activities among students of technical and vocational institutes and study groups.
He explained that the Activities and Student Services Department is keen on activating women’s activities by organizing cultural and sports competitions that are compatible with the capabilities of girls and social customs and traditions in Hadhramaut and Yemen in general. These competitions include various games such as table tennis and chess, in addition to other cultural activities.
He also pointed out that student initiatives play an active role in enhancing their participation in implementing sports activities and events among themselves within the institutes. They also participate in awareness lectures held alongside sports activities. Breast cancer early detection awareness lectures are among the most important initiatives launched by female students to contribute to increasing health awareness among girls.
Future Plans
Saad Tahir mentions that youth initiatives in Yemen have established future plans for developing women’s sports, aiming to raise social and cultural awareness about the importance of sports for women. She emphasizes the necessity of integrating this awareness into future plans to bridge the gender gap in this field and challenge the customs and traditions that hinder women’s participation in sports.
She confirms that youth initiatives have numerous plans and programs to stimulate women’s sports movement, including ideas, visions, and long-term plans. However, most of them haven’t been implemented on the ground due to several reasons, most prominently the lack of financial support and the influence of customs and traditions that society still adheres to, in addition to the lack of security and fear of the unknown, according to her.
She points out that she has faced numerous challenges, even on a personal athletic level, in implementing a radio or press sports program that promotes women’s participation in sports. This is one of the future plans she is working on, but many radio stations and newspapers have rejected this project for one reason or another. The reason might be the lack of acceptance of these ideas by the street and society in any way.
For her part, Fatima Al-Shami says, “There are many activities and programs that the Olympic Committee is working on internally. Qualification courses have been held for female graduates of physical education and sports and players of national teams in sciences related to sports training, and former players have participated in international courses to establish an integrated women’s sports base.”
She indicates that the Olympic Committee aims to increase women’s participation in sports to 30% in future plans. Women’s participation in external activities is also extensive, the latest being the Asian Games in the People’s Republic of China with the largest delegation since the establishment of the Yemeni Olympic Committee.
The committee affirms the continued participation of women in international sporting events, such as the upcoming Paris Olympics. The Olympic Committee is working within its future plans to activate the role of women in sports federations and clubs in all Yemeni governorates, creating a suitable environment for women to practice sports and develop their skills in various sports fields.
Challenges and Solutions
Youth initiatives concerned with promoting women’s sports in Yemen face significant challenges that hinder the optimal implementation of their plans and programs. These challenges are an obstacle to achieving the goals of these initiatives in increasing women’s participation in sports and enhancing their role in society.
Sports media personality Saad Tahir believes that the most prominent of these challenges are: the requirement of security authorities for legal permits to practice sports, prevailing local customs and traditions that prevent women from practicing sports, and the lack of financial resources and support, which hinder the initiatives from implementing their activities and plans on the ground. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome these challenges and find solutions for them, as this would enhance the role of youth initiatives in increasing sports activities for women.
Al-Shami points out that the most important challenges and difficulties facing youth and youth initiatives lie in financial and moral support. To address these, attention must be paid to the field of sports from the highest levels of the state by allocating financial support for activities, programs, and participation in external sports in general, and women’s sports activities in particular. Afterward comes the role of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, federations, and clubs in expanding the base of activities and programs specific to women’s sports.
Everyone emphasizes that supporting youth initiatives for sports is an investment in a better future for Yemen because sports contribute to enhancing women’s health, developing their skills, and strengthening their effective participation in society. Thanks to these initiatives, women’s sports have become an open space for many girls who have a passion or desire to engage in this field. Therefore, it is necessary to continue supporting these initiatives and expanding their scope. However, the biggest challenge remains how to maintain this momentum and dedicate efforts to achieve these shared goals.