Abdullah Al-Jamili

Al-Madinah

 

ACCORDING to a report by the Saudi Press Agency recently, the Ministry of Education has allowed girls in private schools to practice sports under certain Shariah conditions. Anyone who looks deeply into this news item will pause a number of times and come up with many questions.



The decision has limited women’s sports to private schools only. Is this because of a realization by the ministry that it is unable to prepare suitable facilities for sports in government schools even in the long term?



Or can we say the ministry considers women sports as “Haram” so it should not be practiced in its schools? Can we understand from this that the private schools, which operate under the umbrella of the ministry, have become out of control and their students are removed from the ministry’s responsibility and care?



Or do the ministry’s officials believe that the women’s sports is halal but it should be kept away at least for the moment from public schools where children of many opponents of the move attend so as to silence the dissenting voice until a time comes when this will be accepted in all schools, whether government or private?



There are no departments in our universities that teach physical education. Therefore we will not have Saudi women sport instructors or trainers. Here arises another question: Is the permission for private schools to organize sports an excuse to import female trainers from abroad? The answers lie with the ministry’s officials.