Rights for workout

 Saudi girls are asking for physical activities like swimming, basketball and other sports in school as a matter of right to be healthy and not as a matter of luxury.

Supporting them is the Saudi Women’s Committee for Family Health, which finds it a dire necessity to add at least one period for physical education in girls’ schools – and more, to open sports clubs for women all over the country.

 

"Why is physical education only for international schools?” asked Lamia, a high school student. “What about us who are in government schools?  We are the majority. We should have it as well.” Lamia’s contention, however, opens a larger issue of facilities in government schools for girls. Her government school is in a rented building. "There isn't enough room there for us to walk and enjoy school time,” she said. “It is quite boring there. We just want to have a period for physical games, a little fun."

 

The problem of space in government schools like Lamia’s cannot be solved soon enough – though education sector allotments to improve Saudi schools’ infrastructure have been approved and work in this regard is imminent –the matter of the students’ health can well be

immediately addressed.

 

According to the Ministry of Health, 51 percent of Saudi women are fat or obese. This has much to do with their childhood inactivity.

 

Nowhere in Saudi Arabia can district gymnasiums be found for girls or women. Moreover, Saudi parents tend to prevent their daughters from walking for exercise in public places. All this has led to a notion is that Saudis generally don't take much care about their health.

 

The Saudi Women’s Committee for Family Health aims to change all that. It sees in physical education an opportunity for schoolgirls to appreciate the importance of exercise and sports and the effort they need to make to reach an ideal weight.

 

The Committee calls for establishing gymnasiums in each district to create a healthy environment in which women may better understand and share the need to adopt healthy habits.

 

Girls’ school administrators support the idea of physical education (P.E.)."We want to introduce a period for sports in which girls can expend their energy instead of using it to create problems,” said Missara Hasnen, a Jeddah high school vice principal. Hassnen believes that sports would add fun to the learning process. The girls would develop an interest in sports classes, participate actively and thereby focus more on the education process, all of which would then reflect positively on their class work as well, she said.

 

"We have given the green light this year to make proper places in the playground of our school," Hassnen said. “Girls can have fun through playing basketball or other games. It is a new project for all the big schools."

 

Yet, girls’ school principals are still awaiting a decision by the education authorities, permitting P.E. classes.

Khadeja Abduallah, an intermediate school principal, said she has gone ahead and allowed her girl students to play during their free periods. She has introduced different games but needs qualified staff to teach them how to play them. Mothers have suggestions as well.

 

Huda Al-Ghanim, a Saudi mother of three girls, wants girls’ clubs established, with all the necessary sports equipment. Access to such a club would give her daughters a chance to play basketball, swim or do aerobics, she said. Besides, the clubs would open job opportunities for girls in various sports disciplines,  including for those who graduate as dietitians.

 

Moreover, these clubs would offer a sense of security since many Saudi families find it unacceptable for young girls to even walk in public for fear they may be exposed to harassment by boys. "I used to walk in a garden nearby,” said Wala, 21- year- old Saudi woman who has a weight problem. “But then some silly boys chased after my sister and me.” Wala complained to her father about the incident and he decided not to let them go out for walks anymore.

 

“I weigh 85 kilos!” Wala lamented. “I stay in front of the television watching it again and again!”

 

Overweight people, compared to those of normal weight, are more susceptible to high blood pressure and high blood levels of cholesterol – major risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Several types of cancers are also associated with being overweight.

 

"We doctors for women advise them to use their muscles all the time and to exercise,” said Dr. Aisa Mitwli. “This will also help to prevent pain during period time. Pregnant women also need to walk a lot."

 

For children, Dr. Mitwaly believes that physical exercises will stimulate better understanding of school lessons and refresh memory. Besides, regular exercise will also make teens look great, which adds to the way they value themselves "Teens want to look attractive and if they don`t get that feeling, they, for sure, will become depressed and miserable,” she said. Islam does not prohibit women and girls from exercises or sports, said Prof. Sanna Ammar who teaches Islamic studies at the College of Education in Jeddah. She cited the Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khatab as saying, "Teach your kids shooting, swimming and riding horses. "He didn't mean boys only but both of them separately – they have to be involved in different kinds of games," Prof. Sanna said.

 

Even Ayesha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), used to walk, the professor said – “and walking is one of the best habits that our girls can develop but they should get the proper place for it.”

 

Dieticians said general awareness of the risks of obesity was low a few years back but now Saudis are seeking more and more information about ways to improve their health. "People have started taking more care about their health,” said Dr. Heba Kharjey, a Saudi dietician. “The more they get educated, the better understanding they will have about what their bodies need."

 

Another favorable argument was that young Saudi men have become more demanding in their search for brides. They want to get married to a slim, healthy bride, not a fat and flabby one.

 

"I am looking for a bride for my son,” said Latifa, a Saudi mother. “He insists that his bride must be thin enough to wear jeans. He wants her to be slim and fit for any fashion that he sees on the satellite channels