Nawal El Moutawakel on Education of Women and Girls

LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications

TAMPA/NEW YORK, Sept 22: IOC Executive Board member Nawal El Moutawakel was speaking out at the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit being held in New York to support of education for women.

The Olympian is also a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador and has dealt with many of her own trying experiences growing up in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s in Morocco. El Moutawakel is also the first Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold medal on the 400 meter hurdles and has even served her country as Minister of Sports.

Speaking to the UN News center today she said: “I personally lived these difficulties… access to education, women’s empowerment, environmental protection, improvement in health. I had experiences in all these fields linked to my personal life, to that of my country.”

“An educated woman is an educated family and an educated country since women represent more than half the population in most countries today. When women have no access to education all other (MDG) efforts are doomed to fail.

“Access to primary education is vital since it has a run-on impact on all other MDGs, it even determines the success and survival of some, like women’s empowerment.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held a roundtable discussion with other IOC Members Prince Albert of Monaco and Hungarian President Pal Schmitt to discuss the important value of sport working closely with the UN to strive to attain the MDG goals for 2015.

Source: http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/47463/iocun-education-for-women-and-girls-crucial-for-mdg-efforts

Montreal's Muslim soccer league wraps up successful season

Montreal's only soccer league that accepts hijab-wearing teens wrapped up its season this past weekend.

The Muslim Youth Soccer League was created when players were barred from FIFA-sanctioned tournaments because the sport's governing body ruled that hijabs posed an injury risk to players.

Raghad Abu-Thuraia was one player who found herself excluded after the ruling.

"They're like 'maybe because pins could fall off,' and I was like 'I can tuck this in I'm wearing like two pieces,' and they're like 'I'm sorry," said Raghad.

When his sister could no longer play for Pierrefonds, Musab Nabil Abu-Thuraia created the MYSL.

"We started with 50 players and right now we have 250 players ages five and up," said Abu-Thuraia.

He says that over the past two years, the league has helped unite Montreal's Muslim community.

"Keep our differences aside, bring our cultures, learn about each other and unite as one community as Muslim-Canadians," said Abu-Thuraia.

Players like Basma Salame say as a way of meeting other Muslims, the league is very effective.

"I met new people from here and you don't know how many Muslims there are until you join a community that brings them all together," Salame said.

"It was all about having fun."

However the league is inclusive, and open to all players, Muslim or not.

Jessica Avalos plays in the league, and says there is nowhere else she'd rather play.

"No one's telling you you're not allowed to do something," said Avalos. "I really like it, it's free, open."

Source: http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100817/mtl_muslimsoccer_100817/20100817/?hub=MontrealHome