Saudi Arabia will not have female representation at the London 2012 Olympics after all. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) blocked Saudi show-jumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas from competing this summer, for not being qualified.
Malhas is an American-born, London-educated multi-millionaire’s daughter, and the million-dollar horse was bought from Sweden to advance her Olympic prospects. Although the riding helmet is a good substitute for the hijab, not sure what the Saudi clerics thought of the tight white breeches the riders are required to wear.
UK Telegraph The Saudi Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that they were open to women competing at a Games for the first time, following pressure from the country’s ruler King Abdullah. Mulhas had been suggested as a likely participant but the FEI confirmed last night that she did not meet the minimum competence standard to tackle the Olympic course.
In a statement, FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos said: “Regretfully the Saudi Arabian rider Dalma Mulhas Malhas has not attained the minimum eligibility standards and consequently will not be competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games.”
Mulhas bought a new horse, Caramell KS, in December for a possible bid to qualify for the Games, but has jumped just one clear round in seven attempts at the minimum three-star qualifying level this spring.
The Saudi announcement that it will sanction female athletes came after the June 17 deadline set by the FEI, by which riders had to achieve a minimum competence. When addressing the recent IOC Women and Sport conference in Los Angeles, Mulhas herself stated she was not yet riding at the required standard.
The 20 year-old, whose family live in France, took part in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, in the individual show jumping event. She was directly invited and not formally nominated by the Saudi Federation. She won the individual bronze medal over courses that are significantly smaller than will be encountered at London 2012 and against moderate competition – strong equestrian nations from Europe were largely absent.
Intl Herald Tribune Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow women to compete at the Olympics for the first time is being greeted with more cynicism than celebration.
The Kingdom’s small step in the direction of gender equality may therefore turn out to be nothing more than a symbolic and empty gesture. “They’re only doing it so they don’t get banned from the Olympics,” wrote Barry Petchesky at the Deadspin sports site. “This is progress, but it is not much progress.”
“It is only right that the Saudi government should play by the Olympic rules,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “But an eleventh hour change of course to avoid a ban does not alter the dismal and unequal conditions for women and girls in Saudi Arabia.”
The International Olympic Committee had been under pressure to prevent the Saudis from participating in the Games if they failed to lift a ban on women athletes that was in violation of the I.O.C.’s anti-discrimination statutes.
As late as April, the president of Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee, Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, stated that he did not “endorse female participation of Saudi Arabia at the present time in the Olympics.”
That appeared to echo the prevailing view among Saudi Arabia’s religious conservatives, such as the Grand Mufti, Abd al-Aziz al-Shaikh, who declared: “Women should be housewives. There is no need for them to engage in sports.”
Riyadh’s last-minute reversal appeared to let the I.O.C. off the hook “by allowing the fiction that in some way the Saudis are allowing women generally to compete for a place in the Olympics,” said Jon Snow, the presenter of Britain’s Channel 4 News.
According to Barry Petchesky at Deadspin: “It’s a victory for tokenism, and doing the bare minimum to satisfy a toothless I.O.C.” He and other commentators noted that Ms. Rushdi Malhas had the good fortune to have been born in Ohio and to live and train in Europe where she did not suffer the domestic constraints on would-be women athletes.
So…let me see if I understand this. Their laws MUST be obeyed UNLESS it can bring them glory?
Hmmm….
Gotta say tho- I’d like that handsome Equine in my stable! What an adorable creature he is!….You have to agree Mrs BNI !!!!
Wendy, Oh Yes! Love at first sight.
got that right he is a gorgeous animal. i just couldn’t picture women in hijab and full body coverings attempting to do a high dive. they would just drown with all that extra wwight
dragon, hmmmmm, maybe they SHOULD be allowed in that case. LOL
Oh no! We couldn’t have that! The poor horse may get tangled in all those rags going over a jump…poor poor horse, dont care about what is riding him, but, all due care MUST come to the horse first and foremost!..That horse should be mine…what a waste….
Wendy, you’re right. The horses come before everything. That’s one nice thing about horse sports, you never see muslims there for the most part, except for racing. Not yet, anyway. But don’t forget, this girl was raised and educated in the West. She doesn’t even live in SA now.
ok, you have the horse…..
Whats next for them,if she accidently shows a great big sexy Temple,or,(allah Forbid)Earlobe,Demotion to the Fencing,??? If they go in for the Sack Race will they be accused of cheating as they have arrived Pre-Prepared.
You don’t suppose that multi millionaire part helped convince the Saudi Govt. to let her try to compete in tho0se tight pants, with her face hanging out —— and on a naked horse too, do ya ?
AIIIEEEE ! She might inflame our innocent men with dessire and cause them to —-
Never Mind !
She must be very disappointed and annoyed with the 7th century dictatorship.
This bint is a fakestinian with soddy citizenship.
In other words: the chicken is HOME to roost.
It is also another piece of evidence that despite money out the butt and access to the best education in the world (Western) musloids are still sub par in everything. They are a never ending black comedy.
Wonder how long before some musloid group tries to sue the IOC for this bint’s failure to qualify?
IC, I forgot, what is “bint?”
Sorry, but I have to disagree with your assessment of her abilities. She is very good rider, but has never shown at the level that is required of Olympic showjumpers. From the looks of that jump, she is on the level with our junior jumper riders, who jump fences around 4’3″ – 4’9″ high and wide. Olympic level jumps are higher and wider.
She apparently has access to the best horses and trainers in the world, so in 4 more years, she is likely to qualify. She’s only 20, which is quite young in the Equestrian world for Olympic level riders.
Another Saudi male rider who was expected to compete at the Olympics has been disqualified for drugging his horse.
Scrunt. Tw*t. Slash. You know.
I bet the male koranimal was shagging his horse too.
Its derived from the arabic word for “girl”. British slang with meanings across the board from whore/slut to darling/girlfriend.
S.A. is going to do what is necessary to look good in the eyes of the world, while it prepares to hold the entire world hostage and in complete obeisance to SHARIA and mohommedism. So this is all show and no go.
I believe that iran have prevented their female athletes (athlete’s from iran? surely not.. from taking part in the olympics due to a strict dress code regarding the female power/weight lifting event, I believe the same rule applies to their female football players.. no niqah, no hijab, no rag on head types.
I’m unsure whether iran are allowed to breech the dress code.
Here’s another article to add the the olymic terror threat collection:
Two Muslim converts arrested over Olympic terror plot
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/9362738/Two-Muslim-converts-arrested-over-Olympic-terror-plot.html
EW, just posted.
Why didn’t the UK Muslim Police Association warn them?