Women's Islamic Games

Last updated
Women's Islamic Games
بازی‌های اسلامی بانوان
First event 1993 Flag of Iran.svg Tehran / Rasht
Occur everyFour years
Last event 2005 Flag of Iran.svg Tehran
PurposeMulti-sport event for Muslim women
Organization IFWS

The Women's Islamic Games, also called the Muslim Women's Olympics, [1] were an international multi-sport event started in 1993. The event was organised by the Islamic Federation of Women's Sport. Muslim women of all nationalities were allowed to take part in the Games. [2]

Contents

They were organized by the Islamic Federation of Women's Sport (IFWS). The event has been held in 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2005 in Iran. [3] The 1993 games saw athletes from 13 countries, [1] which increased to 44 countries by 2005. [4] In 2001, Britain became the first Muslim-minority country to participate. [5] [6]

The games were recognized by the International Olympic Committee, and Mary Glen-Haig supervised the first games in 1993 as the IOC's representative. [7] [8]

History

The Islamic Federation of Women's Sport was established in 1991. [2] Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was instrumental in initiating the games. [9] [10] Hashemi also made an effort to include some controversial aspect in the opening ceremony for each games, in the hope of normalizing it. In 1996, for example, the opening ceremony included cycling, which women were not allowed to do in public at the time. The 2005 opening ceremony included men and women dancing together in a variety of styles, including ballet and disco. [11]

The debut games in 1993 included para table tennis for disabled sportswomen. [2]

Men and male coaches were absent from the audience at the sporting events which necessitated less body coverage, such as swimming, but were permitted to attended events such as chess and rifle shooting, which did not require a departure from islamic clothing, and horse riding events, since an athletic chador had been designed for the competitors. [10] [12]

The games were primarily funded by the Iranian government, followed by Iranian corporate sponsors. In 2005, the only non-Iranian sponsor was Samsung. [11] That year, however, FIFA did make equipment donations in recognition of the attention the games were bringing to futsal. [11]

In 2018, Masoud Soltanifar, the Iranian Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, announced the country would revive the event, although this did not come to fruition. [13]

Goals

  1. In sports and international competition, Muslim women cannot compete without protective clothing and headgear in accordance with Islam.
  2. Inspire Muslim women to achieve global competitiveness, on a regional, continental, world and Olympic scale.
  3. The Women's Islamic Games will be an international event, and records shall be kept of athletes' performances.

Editions

YearGamesHostCountriesAthletesSportsMedals
1st place2nd place3rd place
1993
I
Flag of Iran.svg Tehran / Rasht 104077Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan (27)Flag of Iran.svg  Iran (20)Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan (12)
1997
II
Flag of Iran.svg Tehran 2474812Flag of Iran.svg  Iran (58)Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan (35)Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia (19)
2001
III
Flag of Iran.svg Tehran / Rasht 2379515Flag of Iran.svg  Iran (77)Flag of Syria (2025-).svg  Syria (18)Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan (8)
2005
IV
Flag of Iran.svg Tehran 44131618Flag of Iran.svg  Iran (31)Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal (9)Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan (6)

Sports

SportYears [10] [11] [12]
Athletics pictogram.svg  Athletics ( details )
Badminton pictogram.svg  Badminton ( details ) since 1993
Basketball pictogram.svg  Basketball ( details )
Chess pictogram.svg  Chess ( details )
Equestrian pictogram.svg  Equestrian ( details )
Futsal pictogram.svg  Futsal ( details ) since 2001 [14]
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg  Gymnastics ( details )
Handball pictogram.svg  Handball ( details )
Karate pictogram.svg  Karate ( details )
Shooting pictogram.svg  Shooting ( details )
Swimming pictogram.svg  Swimming ( details )
Table tennis pictogram.svg  Table tennis ( details ) since 1993
Tennis pictogram.svg  Tennis ( details )
Volleyball (indoor) pictogram.svg  Volleyball ( details )

Medal count

Twenty five nations have won at least one medal in the Women's Islamic Games; twenty three nations have won at least one gold medal. As of the 2005 Games, Iran has won the most gold medals as well as the most medals overall.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of Iran.svg  Iran  (IRN)186173135494
2Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan  (KAZ)45121572
3Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan  (KGZ)40201272
4Flag of Syria (2025-).svg  Syria  (SYR)325163146
5Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan  (AZE)304163134
6Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia  (INA)2420650
7Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan  (PAK)184950117
8Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan  (TKM)12145278
9Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal  (SEN)95822
10Flag of Malaysia 23px.svg  Malaysia  (MAS)57719
11Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan  (TJK)481325
12Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan  (SUD)42410
13Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia  (ARM)4228
14Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea  (KOR)4217
15Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan  (JOR)3238
16Flag of Russia.svg  Russia  (RUS)3104
17Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh  (BAN)24511
18Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq  (IRQ)23914
19Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait  (KUW)2338
20Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda  (UGA)2103
21Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon  (LIB)1214
22Flag of Brunei.svg  Brunei  (BRU)1124
23Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia  (GEO)1023
24Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan  (AFG)0235
25Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar  (QAT)0156
Totals (25 entries)4344264641,324

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hargreaves, Jennifer (2002-09-11). Sporting Females: Critical Issues in the History and Sociology of Women's Sport. Routledge. p. 232. ISBN   978-1-134-91277-3.
  2. 1 2 3 Limoochi, Sima (13 September 2013). "Reflections on participation of Muslim women in disability sport: Hijab, Burkini, modesty and changing strategies". In M. Le Clair, Jill (ed.). Disability in the Global Sport Arena – A Sporting Chance. Taylor & Francis. pp. 235, 236. ISBN   9781135694241.
  3. "The Women's Islamic Games". Muslim Women's Sport Foundation. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  4. Harkness, Geoff; Islam, Samira (2017-01-13). "18. Muslim Female Athletes and the Hijab". In O'Brien, Jodi (ed.). Gender, Sexuality, and Intimacy: A Contexts Reader. SAGE Publications. ISBN   978-1-5063-5230-5.
  5. McLeod, Hugh (2022-10-13). Religion and the Rise of Sport in England. Oxford University Press. p. 233. ISBN   978-0-19-267627-6.
  6. Akbar, Arifa (2005-09-14). "Muslim women in a football league of their own". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  7. Chatziefstathiou, D.; Henry, I. (2012-07-30). Discourses of Olympism: From the Sorbonne 1894 to London 2012. Springer. ISBN   978-1-137-03556-1.
  8. Williams, Jean (2020-07-26). Britain's Olympic Women: A History. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-000-16320-9.
  9. Ahmad, Aisha (25 January 2012). "7. British Muslim female experiences in football: Islam identity and the hijab". In Burdsey, Daniel (ed.). Race, Ethnicity and Football – Persisting Debates and Emergent Issues. Taylor & Francis. p. 109. ISBN   9781136726897.
  10. 1 2 3 Faruqi, Anwar (December 14, 1997). "Women's Islamic Games Open In Iran Without Male Audience, Women Can Swap Their Traditional Clothing For Athletic Gear". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Fourth Women's Islamic Games an ambassadorial platform". Business Recorder. 2005-09-29. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  12. 1 2 LoLordo, Ann (1997-12-18). "For Muslim women only Islamic games: A 10-day event in Iran brings women from 24 nations together to compete -- in some cases without male spectators or coaches". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  13. "Iran set to revive Women's Islamic Games: sports minister". Tehran Times. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  14. Fahey, Jamie (2022-08-02). Futsal: The Indoor Game That Is Revolutionizing World Soccer. Melville House. p. 238. ISBN   978-1-61219-980-1.

Further reading