After 82 seconds Wojdan Shaherkani had lost the battle. Her brother Hassan put his arm around her shoulder, and led her past a hundred reporters. The shouting, shoving, for the judo fighter from Saudi Arabia, the microphones stretched into the pale face. Shaherkani, 16 years old, whispered something about honor, pride, confidence. She looked away, shy, timid wanted it simple. Wojdan Shaherkani is the first Saudi Arabian woman who participated in an Olympic competition.
She is the woman who has been missing, you might say. A historical latecomer. For the first time, all 204 nations are represented at the games with women. In Atlanta in 1996 had 26 teams were still all-male. In London, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brunei and closed the gap by 4800 around 10,500 athletes are female.
Wojdan Shaherkani have brought shame on Saudi Arabia, conservative Muslims complain on the internet, shame on the Arab world. Nawal El Moutawakel, the Moroccan Vice President of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, speaks of a peaceful revolution. But what is the reality?
Obesity and diabetes
On a gray London morning David Mepham is sitting in his glass box office and explains why even historical moments are sometimes deceptive. "The struggle of Shaherkani was a modest step", says UK director at Human Rights Watch. "We must draw attention to the everyday lives of Saudi women. They have almost no rights and are treated as second class citizens. "In Saudi Arabia, girls and women of the sport is not permitted, not in schools, clubs, gyms. Many suffer from obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes. If they work, travel, want to go to the doctor, they must present the permission of a male relative.
On Wednesday, the runner Sarah Attar, the second Saudi Olympian, resigned in the run over 800 meters from the competition. Attar, 19 years old, grew up in California, she is fluent in English. It can be of her photos where she wears a headscarf. But the Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia called for by his two female athletes, in London, "to behave appropriately Islam": concealed body and head, accompanied by a male overseer. During the opening ceremony were Shaherkani Attar and one in the back row of their teams into the stadium, behind the men.
The two women had not qualified for the Games, the IOC gave them special permission - and celebrates itself as a human rights covenant.
David Mepham just want to move it. It is true that Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, have used for the women. More important, however, the pressure of human rights organizations on the Saudi regime was. "The IOC has power," says Mephan. "It must use that power well after the Olympics when all the journalists are back home." He wants to prevent that disappear behind the wonderful story of two athletes to the real problems. The fact that the debate about extravagant headgear in judo is no room for other issues, education, care or sexuality of women: "Girls in Saudi Arabia have no opportunity to discover their talents."
In the ranking of press freedom, Reporters Without Borders publishes annually, Saudi Arabia is of 179 countries evaluated in 158th place The Saudi women are a little out of their Olympic athletes who continue to live abroad. You are more likely to get the outrage of conservative forces to hear that might potentiate by government censorship. Ali Seraj Shaherkani, father of the Saudi Judo fighter, now has his home, the Home Office asked for help, he hired a lawyer and would like to punish the abuse of his daughter legally. Whether he will reply?
An elite circle
The Olympic idea is to peacemaking and conflict resolution, but in ancient times it was forbidden to women to visit sports sites. Even Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern games, saw no place for women. The Greek STAMATA Revithi 1896 still took part in the marathon at the premiere, but in 1984 the track was for women officially Olympics. "The IOC was an elite circle of industrialists and aristocrats," says the historian Jutta Braun from the center of Berlin German sports history. "They thought that physical activity could distort the girl's face and would degrade the ability to give birth."
Long had the women in the Olympics behind walls or bushes move to avoid being seen by men. The newspapers reported that Miss efficient, they named their first names, because they believed otherwise embarrass their husbands. "The Nazi regime was seen as important sport," says Jutta Braun, "for the strengthening of the female body in motherhood." After the war, opened more sports for women, but soccer was forbidden for them until 1970.
Women had to work hard for every Olympic sport in London, they closed the final gap, they are now also approved for boxing. At the Winter Games in Sochi in two years, they must first jump off the hill. Proud of the United States and Canada have indicated to have been nominated for this summer, more women than men. The British also published many articles on their athletes, 262 are in the process, which corresponds to a share of 48 percent.
"Olympics for the girls," headlines the Observer. "As the British team falls in love with his feminine side." There is a forecast that British women have won more medals than men for the first time.
Tim Woodhouse is often asked by journalists to participate in these bills, but he is then the question of what is to be permanently. Woodhouse works for the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, the WSFF, his office is located at the Victoria House on Bloomsbury Square to send, where to use a number of initiatives for grassroots sport. "Two weeks Olympia can no equality between women and men bring in the sport," says Woodhouse. "But they give us a boost and can make the distance between the sexes are smaller."
Woodhouse can recite all British winners of medals, but he also has statistics at hand, which is lost in patriotic gold cry: According to the World Health Organization in 2011, twelve percent of British girls in the age of fourteen were regularly active, were with the boys twice as many . Above all Muslim girls are underrepresented. Twelve percent of British women do three times per week sports, for men it is twenty percent. Sponsors of the funds for the Sport 0.5 percent to flow to women.
Half of the girls surveyed had at the Olympics, having no sporting role models. Maybe they would now opt for the cyclist Elizabeth Armitstead, who won the first medal for the host and spoke of a satisfaction, "after all the sexism." Armitstead received many interview requests, in detail, it has not expressed. Tim Woodhouse is not surprised that he knows the pressures of the business: "We find it hard to motivate girls to amateur sport. We need coaches and referees - and sponsors, "The London Organising Committee has always attached high priority to balance in its structures.. Whether this signal will arrive at the base?
Tim Woodhouse will now take advantage of the public to make known to his foundation. "Many people see for the first time that even women run fast and jump high." Maybe one or the other school director for the Olympic crowds interested in a girls' sport-AG, at a basketball camp weekend, a mother- daughter-race. Perhaps Britain will also be annoyed by all the directors of the continuous sound of "Higher, Faster, More".
More millionaires than women
Tim Woodhouse is no walk in the close quarters of an hour Berry Street to Fawcett Society, the maybe the most influential women rights organization in England. The company takes its name from Millicent Garrett Fawcett, who had used the early twentieth century for suffrage, education and political participation of women. The staff of Fawcett would be unable to give the Olympics, they have seen too many media cycles, which stood in the way of objective debate. Olympia, they seem to feel rather than a hindrance.
The activist Preethi Sundaram agrees to speak at least on the political discrimination: "The British government sit more millionaires than women in parliament and only every fifth member is female." This proportion Westminster is ranked 56th globally In the British economy were only thirteen percent of board members are women, the Fawcett Society calls for balanced conditions in 2020: "Everywhere where important decisions are made for the population, we have a shortage of women. This is unhealthy for a democracy that has an impact on the diversity of a society. "
With the exception of the Social Democratic Labour Party had no political movement developed a real strategy for increasing women, says Sundaram. Are debates like these are available in half of Europe, including Germany. And now for just a couple of medals in the rings of this climate change thing? Preethi Sundaram incredulous smiles, looks at the clock and says gently, she had no time.
It is almost impossible to find an Olympic athlete who wants to go public with the sporting machismo into judgment, too great is the fear of the loss of sponsors. According to Star magazine is to create only two women among the one hundred highest paid athletes in the world. A study by the Sports University in Cologne, according to the percentage of women sports reporters is five to 15 percent. "As a woman you can in this male-emphasized marketing world can score high if they take your skin to the market," says Imke Duplitzer, one of the most successful fencers of Germany and a participant in London. "Services are nice, but not so critical."
In beach volleyball officials have decided that players have to wear a bikini pants, seven inches wide, alternatively, a mini skirt or pants, even at the Olympics can click them on the Internet dozens of photo galleries. Prior to the World Cup last year, the women on the German glossy posters to see, especially the attractive reserve player Fatmire Bajramaj, adorned with the slogan "20ELEVEN at its best." The accurate, but rather inconspicuous captain Birgit Prinz was in advertising barely watch. Researchers at the Sports University in Cologne certify Sexualisierungsdruck a marketing and media. Since 1995, Germany pulled in more than fifty athletes for Playboy.
Male Performance Standard
In sports, the male determines the performance standard that women are more facade than in politics and business. The International Olympic Committee wants to make the audience anyway, that softens the Olympics gender boundaries. The images of the Saudi judoka Wojdan Shaherkani will see probably in the year to each review, as a historical legacy of the Games. Not shown are the then Iranian footballers. They could not qualify for the Olympics last year, as the world governing body Fifa, the kicking was not allowed to wear headscarves.
Jacques Rogge, the chief guardian of the Olympic Games is not tired of talking about the Olympic feminine. Recently, the IOC has added two more female members. 22 women now sit on the committee - and almost five times as many men.
From german with automated translaters
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