JEDDAH: With the UEFA Champions League finals coming to a close, local women have complained they have been left out of the excitement, as most family café’s and restaurants do not show the games in contrast to male-only cafes.
“I went to five cafes in hopes of watching the Manchester United and Chelsea game, and none of these cafes were showing the match,” said Haifa Rajeb, 24.
Rajeb recounted what a waiter in a café in Jeddah’s Rawdah district told her when asked why the matches weren't being shown in the family section.
“‘We show it in the men's section and we do not have the subscription for the family section. Sometimes we try and connect it to all our TVs, but it is not possible for all the matches.’ Then I asked him if he deemed ‘Man-United’ to be a ‘Man-Only’ game? He laughed, but he was not sorry about the chauvinism,” she said.
Another female customer at the café, who chose to remain anonymous, rendered the management's claim that women aren't interested in sports null and void.
“I was with a group of friends. It is unfair to assume women do not watch football and to only air the match live in the men's section,” she said.
Maya Thabet, 26, told Arab News that most of the cafes that usually show sports and other games are not currently airing them.
“You would expect sports salons and cafés to show games for their customers. They are giving us false hope by claiming to be sport cafes. When I tried getting an answer from the manager at a café on Tahlia Street on the eve of the match, as we had reserved a big table for all of us, he replied point blank that they don’t show the games because they have to pay for the channels,” she said.
Nevertheless, the perception prevails that limiting the presentation of athletic events to men-only venues is discriminatory.
Arab News spoke to a group of 12 girls who were trying hard to watch the match near their place of work.
“I left work early and forced my friends to do as well, hoping we could watch this crucial game. Considering that we cannot drive — unlike men — we tried in four different areas including sports cafes, but none of the family sections were showing the game live. My brother and his friends were watching it at a men’s café on Tahlia Street and it made my situation infuriating.”
Another football fanatic, Hiba Fouad, 26, told Arab News: “The divide between men and women on the basis of what the management of cafes here think of our interests is absolutely bogus and a mockery of women.”
She claimed cafes that only show games in the men's section upset her further as she feels women “should be given a fair chance to enjoy football, or any sport, equally.”
Football is the national sport of Saudi Arabia, and scores of women find it hard to pursue their desire to watch matches publicly.
“Given that football is what we have grown up watching, it is only ideal to think women would want to enjoy the game, or at least be allowed the leverage to watch it. Many of us want to watch the UEFA Champions League outside with our friends but they are limiting that facet we love most,” said Hend Al-Shumairi, 23.
the source
I don't mean this to be an attack on Saudi Arabia, but this is obviously a huge problem there. What I love is hearing these women are well aware of their rights and aren't happy about this poor treatment. The sad thing is, this kind of thing actually happens a lot around the world, whether it be in very different ways or not.
Big question of the day: do you experience any prejudice as a female football fan, or feel any kind of discrimination? what are your thoughts on this and what women in general have to put up with in the 'beautiful game'? Is it something we need to address as much as the other issues we face, or do you think this is a regional-specific thing?
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