Nukhba Post – Salma Abdel Aziz (This report was completed with support from ARIJ)
“Your place is in the kitchen, what you are doing is a waste of time, find another profession,” is one of the dozens of comments that accompanied Al-Merreikh Al-Asmi player, Zahra Mohamed Azraq, known as “Wargo,” on her personal page on the social networking site “Facebook,” during her participation in the first Women’s football league in Sudan, on September 30, 2019.
Wargo describes what she went through, saying: “I was psychologically broken, and I felt an overwhelming desire to stop playing football,” adding that she was even subjected to bullying and some comments compared her to men.
Wargo loved football since childhood, and played it with her peers in the neighborhood where she lived and at school as well. But she did not find sufficient support from the family. Wargo says that some of her relatives were urging her mother to prevent her from playing women’s football.
Wargo believes that the lack of family support negatively affected her psychological state and affected her career as a football player. She points out that some Sudanese believe that women do not have the freedom to choose what they want to do, which has caused them to face many challenges in their daily lives, and through social media platforms as well.
Challenges in the path of women’s football
The first women’s football competitions in Sudan were officially launched at the end of September 2019, under the name “Sudanese Women’s Football League.” This breakthrough came after a period of prevention. Perhaps one of its defining milestones was the announcement by former Sudanese President Jaafar Numeiri in 1983 of the application of Islamic law in the country, and the resulting prohibition of women’s football. The situation was not much different during the era of former President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for thirty years, during which the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy issued a fatwa prohibiting the formation of women’s groups. Under the pretext that it does not fit with the values and customs of Sudanese society.
The opening match of the tournament was held at Khartoum International Stadium, known as “Sheikh of Stadiums”, which has a capacity of 23,000 people, between the Al-Tahadi and Al-Diffa teams. The match witnessed the presence of government officials, led by the then Minister of Youth and Sports, Walaa Al-Boushi, in addition to the large public attendance. The first edition of the women’s league included 21 teams, which were divided into four groups; They are Khartoum, Wad Madani, Al-Obeid, and Kadugli.
The tournament system relied on two teams from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals, with the clubs being divided into two groups again, and the two leaders qualifying for the final match to determine the champion.
Moral assassination
“Jojo,” a soccer player who participated in the women’s league, says that negative comments, whether on the Facebook platform or through audience chants, caused the careers of a number of players to end. Jojo added that she knows a player whose family forced her to marry, and others who were prevented from participating in competitions due to their families’ rejection. After hearing the negative and offensive comments they are subjected to.
Jojo points out that “bullying” was happening even by coaches, asking, “How can they play?”, adding: “Harsh and obscene words and insults affect the players psychologically, and this affects them in the street, in the field, and at home, and makes them feel hatred towards society and football.” The foot.”
On the social networking site Facebook, the report’s author monitored hundreds of negative comments against female players after each match. Among the most famous negative comments are describing female players as “divorced,” which according to Sudanese colloquial means rebellious against the family, and “bayara,” meaning a woman who has exceeded the accepted social age for marriage, in addition to other comments that include sexual connotations, accusing female players of wanting to get married, and trying to attract attention. men.
Traditional society
Vice President of the Women’s Sector at Al Hilal Sudanese Club, Mashaer Othman, acknowledges the existence of violence against female football players in Sudan. Othman attributes the reason to the conservative nature of Sudanese society: “90 percent of Sudanese families are conservative and do not prefer or are yet unable to accept the idea of their daughter becoming a football player. Therefore, female players face great criticism and are attacked on social media sites.”
The Vice President of the Women’s Sector at Al Hilal Sudanese Club was not far from this suffering. She says that she personally witnessed players being subjected to pressure and prevention from their families, while she headed the club’s player registration file: “I faced many challenges regarding the registration of some players; For example, you find a player who has a strong desire to join the team, but she is always rejected by a family member.”
Othman believes that the strict rejection by families is mainly caused by fear of digital violence and the criticism faced by female players from society. Whether direct comments or from behind social media platforms.
As for sports journalist Hiyam Taj Al-Sir, she says that bullying against female players has reached the point of mocking their external appearance and questioning their femininity, noting that some of them were able to confront all these challenges and move forward in their sports career.
“The negative comments against female players were not limited to the pioneers of social media platforms only, and I fear that this will be practiced by the managements of some clubs, which do not see the participation of women as necessary or important other than to meet the demands of the international system of the game,” this is what the women’s representative and board member said. Mars Club Management, Salma Sayed.
Salma adds: “It is unfortunate that football federations and club presidents have not yet developed thoughtful plans that present an active female role model participating in the name of sport.”
Death threat
The comments were not limited to bullying and personal abuse, or even sexual innuendos, but also included death threats to the “female refereeing crew.” Sudanese international referee, Ramaz Othman, says that her experience is different in the field of women’s football. Because she found support and encouragement from her family, specifically from her father, the former referee and junior secretary of the Family Club, Khartoum State. But Othman confirms that her journey was also not without bullying, negative comments, and looks of disapproval from society, which rejects every woman who enters the football field.
From a legal standpoint, lawyer and human rights activist Noun Kashkoush says that this type of crime is governed by the Information Crimes Law. Kashkoush adds that female football players who have been subjected to offensive comments have the right to register reports against pages or people who lead campaigns against them. Whether they currently reside in safe Sudanese cities, or reside outside Sudan, because cyber crimes can be governed by the law of the country in which they reside, or any other country in which the people responsible for these pages reside.
Kashkoush confirms that there is no provision in Sudanese law that prohibits or criminalizes women playing or professionally playing football.
Paragraph seventeen of Chapter Four of the Sudanese Cybercrimes Law of 2007 states: “Anyone who uses an information network, a computer, or the like to harm his reputation shall be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, or with a fine, or with both.”
Character assassination methods
Consultant psychologist and director of the Umniah Center for Training and Psychological Skills Development, Dr. Ibtisam Mahmoud Ahmed, describes social media platforms as means of character assassination. This is due to the spread of verbal violence and its psychological impact, resulting in depression, fear, and the desire to stay away from the limelight, and thus closing the personal page on Facebook, or any of the other platforms, as a response to these abuses.
The psychology consultant believes that Sudanese society’s categorical rejection of women’s football, and the negative comments against female players, are due to their departure from the cultural and social framework. Society believes that football is not suitable for women, and that wearing sports uniforms violates the Islamic religion.
Dr. Ibtisam calls on female football players to deal strongly and decisively with campaigns of negative comments and bullying, and not to be defeated by harsh language or societal traditions.
