In conservative Saudi Arabia, 2012 Olympian Sarah Attar sees rumblings of change

[Rob L 3,811]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/sarah-attar-became-the-first-female-olympian-for-saudi-arabia-in-2012/2016/07/11/87a49096-446c-11e6-bc99-7d269f8719b1_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

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Olympics

In conservative Saudi Arabia, 2012 Olympian Sarah Attar sees rumblings of change

By Chuck Culpepper July 11 at 10:53 AM

Sarah Attar of Saudi Arabia enters the stadium during the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics on July 27, 2012. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

TEMECULA, Calif. During his childhood in Saudi Arabia, Amer Attar would see a peculiar thing on TV sometimes: women, from other lands, competing in sports.

You just watch other countries do it on TV, he said. You know, early on, maybe, it looks different, but people say, Oh, thats the West. You kind of separate yourself from it. You separate your culture from it. Because you could never think that our women could do that, our girls doing that kind of thing.

He then went to college in the United States, married his American wife, Judy, in 1984, and coached his two daughters (and one son) in soccer in California. Then, remarkably, at the 2012 Olympics in London, he witnessed his middle child, Sarah Attar, a middle-distance runner at Pepperdine University, represent Saudi Arabia in the 800 meters.

With Saudi Arabia and Qatar among the last countries to add female athletes to their Olympics contingents, Sarah Attar and Wojdan Shaherkani, a judoka, broke the ground and ignored the odd social-media denigration as best they could. In turn, on repeated visits to Saudi Arabia, the Attar family has noticed some rumblings of change in that most conservative of Middle Eastern lands.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/sarah-attar-became-the-first-female-olympian-for-saudi-arabia-in-2012/2016/07/11/87a49096-446c-11e6-bc99-7d269f8719b1_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_1484w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/07/09/Sports/Graphics/2300-muslimwomen0709.jpg?uuid=SxMRSEYaEeanbTVQ26kmrA

Olympics

In conservative Saudi Arabia, 2012 Olympian Sarah Attar sees rumblings of change

By Chuck Culpepper July 11 at 10:53 AM

Sarah Attar of Saudi Arabia enters the stadium during the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics on July 27, 2012. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

TEMECULA, Calif. During his childhood in Saudi Arabia, Amer Attar would see a peculiar thing on TV sometimes: women, from other lands, competing in sports.

You just watch other countries do it on TV, he said. You know, early on, maybe, it looks different, but people say, Oh, thats the West. You kind of separate yourself from it. You separate your culture from it. Because you could never think that our women could do that, our girls doing that kind of thing.

He then went to college in the United States, married his American wife, Judy, in 1984, and coached his two daughters (and one son) in soccer in California. Then, remarkably, at the 2012 Olympics in London, he witnessed his middle child, Sarah Attar, a middle-distance runner at Pepperdine University, represent Saudi Arabia in the 800 meters.

With Saudi Arabia and Qatar among the last countries to add female athletes to their Olympics contingents, Sarah Attar and Wojdan Shaherkani, a judoka, broke the ground and ignored the odd social-media denigration as best they could. In turn, on repeated visits to Saudi Arabia, the Attar family has noticed some rumblings of change in that most conservative of Middle Eastern lands.

Yes maybe they will let them drive soon and stop executions of homosexuals. The relgion of lovr and peace .

[Jacque67 7,328]

Encouraging news.