Pak athlete Sumaira alleges anti-Islamic campaign in Athens

The 24-year-old from Rawalpindi finished last in her 1,500 metres heat but she said she was followed more for her full shirt and leg coverings during the Athens Olympics last month than her novice run.

“They asked me why I can’t wear shorts like some of the females from other Islamic countries, why is this difference. I said that roots of Islam are more in Pakistan than other countries,” said Sumaira, who added that her parents never forbade her from taking up sports.

Pakistan also sent 14-year-old Rubab Raza, the first female swimmer from the Islamic republic in the Olympics.

“Rubab was also followed and was asked various negative questions about Pakistan,” Sumaira said. “They think women in Pakistan are confined to homes with strict restrictions but I told them that this concept is wrong, women are now working shoulder-to-shoulder with men. Things have changed now and women are taking even pilots’ jobs with the full support of the government.”

Shabana Akhtar was the first-ever Pakistani athlete to compete in the Olympics, in Atlanta in 1996, followed by Shazia Hidayat in the Sydney Olympics four years later.

“The reason why Pakistan did not send female athletes before 1996 was not because of any ban but because we lag behind and could not qualify for the Olympics,” said Sumaira.

From 1996, the International Olympic Committee made it mandatory for all the member countries who do not qualify to send at least one male and a female athlete to participate in the Olympics.