Why would 10,000 Palestinian and Jordanian women flock to Al Ram on the outskirts of Jerusalem by car, by bus, and on foot one sunny October afternoon…?
They were all headed to the Faisal al Husseini stadium. Palestinian flags flew in the light breeze as the crowds arrived to watch the Palestinian women’s national football team take on Jordan in their first home match in history.
Women all over the Middle East love soccer, but as you’d expect they’ve been held back in their bid to take part in the sport. Arab countries tend to view soccer as a “man’s game.”
In nearby Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tried to overturn a longstanding ban on women attending football matches but was hushed by the clerics. In Kuwait, attempts to set up a women’s national team were halted after it was decided that a women’s football team was “un-Islamic”.
Against All Odds
The Palestinian team haven’t had it easy either. The 2003 Israeli movement restrictions rendered the team unable to practice on the only useable grass pitch in the West Bank, in Jericho. So they trained on a concrete handball court at Bethlehem University. When the team wanted to play a match, they had to leave to the country to do so.
In addition to external factors, some Christian and Muslim families prohibited their daughters from playing, but this is changing… Now the Palestinian women’s football team has become a symbol for nationalism and for women’s rights.
Coming Round to the Idea
The Palestinian Football Association has begun to take the women’s game seriously. Slowly but surely, Muslim parents are coming round to the idea that letting their daughters play isn’t such a bad idea.
Rouqaya Takrouri, the 45-year-old national team manager explains recruitment process in an article in The National Newspaper.
“We go to the villages now and tell them [the parents] that it is not forbidden to play. Most of the team is now Muslim. We are talking to every woman now. We send out letters that say: ‘Now is your time.’ Last year we had six clubs, now we have 14.” She says.
Crossing Bridges
“There are no politics involved…” said Nur Nabulsi, 17, a member of the Palestinian team in a New York Times article “…we play only for Palestine.”
Although team players from Gaza were unable to attend due to an Israeli travel ban, the monumental Al Ram match united Palestinians of both genders and of all ages.
Two Palestinian penalties had the team poised for a historic victory before a late equaliser secured a draw with Jordan. But for the women playing, and watching, it was more about taking part than about winning.
After the final whistle both sets of players hugged and embarked on their second lap of honour for the delighted crowd.
