Saudi Olympic & Paralympic Committee (IOC code: KSA; ar, اللجنة الأولمبية السعودية وأولمبياد المعاقين) is the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

and the National Paralympic Committee representing Saudi Arabia. Until the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, Saudi Arabia was one of three countries that had never had a female competitor at the games. The other two countries, Qatar and Brunei, also selected women to compete for the first time. On 20 December 2021, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and the Saudi Arabian Paralympic Committee were merged into one.

2012 Summer Olympics

In April 2012 the head of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee ruled against sending female participants to the Summer Olympics in London. The Olympic committee had previously released a list of potential candidates for the games which included females. Saudi Arabia's refusal to send women to the Olympics put them at odds with the Olympic charter which states that "any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement". The Olympic Committee's stance was later changed and it was announced that two female athletes,

Sarah Attar Sarah Attar ( ar, سارة عطار; born August 27, 1992) is a Saudi-American track and field athlete who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics as one of the first two female Olympians representing Saudi Arabia. She also competed in the maratho ...

(in the

800m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

) and will compete in the 800m and

Wojdan Shaherkani Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani (or "Shaherkani"; ar, وجدان علي سراج الدين شهرخاني; born 1 February 1996) is a Saudi judo competitor who was one of two women selected to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at t ...

(in the +78 kg Judo) judo would compete in London. Shaherkani was selected despite not meeting Olympic qualifying standards, by specific invitation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Unlike most Olympic competitors, she did not win her spot through a national competition because Saudi Arabia strongly discourages women from participating in sport, and thus has no such competitions for women. Unlike other judoka in competition, who have attained black belts in the sport, she had only acquired a blue belt. The IOC president Jacques Rogge said of Shahrkhani's and Attar's inclusion, "The I.O.C. has been working very closely with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and I am pleased to see that our continued dialogue has come to fruition." The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee preferred not to promote Shahrkhani's participation. They also required that she "dress modestly, be accompanied by a male guardian and not mix with men" while in London for the 2012 Games. Additionally, her competition clothing has to comply with

Sharia law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...

. On 30 July 2012, Shahrkhani said that she would withdraw from the event if she was not permitted to wear her

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

during bouts. Her father (who often speaks for her, partially because she does not know English) clarified that he wanted his daughter to compete, and that they wanted to make "new history for Saudi's women," but that she would not participate without a hijab. The next day the I.O.C. and the International Judo Federation announced that agreement had been reached on a headscarf that she could wear.

References

External links

Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee Sports organizations established in 1964 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Oly Saudi Arabia at the Olympics 1964 establishments in Saudi Arabia Government agencies of Saudi Arabia

2012 Summer Olympics

See also

References

External links