This study aims at highlighting the issue of exclusion of Arab Palestinian women in Israel from participating in sports and any form of physical activity (PA), giving specific examples of this exclusion. The research employed narrative life-story interviews to understand the characteristics of women's exclusion story from doing PA. The study examines the manner in which PA is considered a male role in this patriarchal society. In-depth interviews elucidated the life stories of ten active Arab-Palestinian women aged 23-40. Findings point to the need for gender equality choices in doing PA as well as mentoring and support to allow women to engage in PA freely without difficulties and barriers.
Keywords: social conflict theory, social exclusion, Arab-Palestinian Women in Israel
Introduction
The exclusion of Arab-Palestinian women from participating in sports is a perfect example of conflict theory. The men, who are the power aspects in the society, leave the women out when it comes to such aspects of life as education, sports, and work among others. Social conflict theory is used to describe the struggle between different societal segments over some valued resources. This approach is not focused on the manner in which social structures promote the operation of society. Rather, it focuses on how various social patterns promote dominance for some people over others. For a long time now, women have fought for equal rights in various areas, and this has led to major advancements in a variety of areas of public life. Women are now able to vote; run for office and get almost any job they like. In fact, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel currently works to eliminate underage marriage, fight for women in the court system, and advocate for equal representation of women in the media and more (Abdelrahman, 1992).
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During the 19th and most of the 20 centuries, Arab-Palestinian female athletes were excluded from participating in a variety of sports, either because teams and programmers did not exist, or because girls were socialized into a “passive, sociable, nurturing and dependent” role that was reinforced by schools, parents, peers and the mass media (Bernstein and Galily 2008). This alienation was applicable internationally, including the Middle East. Currently, the desire is to reach fair participation of women in Israeli sports, to significantly increase the number of women working as coaches, and expand the exposure of women’s sports in the media. In many countries, the advancement of fair gender representation is accomplished through legislation and law enforcement, which gives hope that women’s representation in sports is an issue that can be changed positively.
Arab-Palestinian Women in Israel
The State of Israel is a conglomerate of several ethnic identities: 74.6% of the population are Jews, 20.9% are Arab, 83.8% are Muslims, 8.4% Christian, and 4.5% defines as "others”. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, women constitute 50.5% of population and men - 49.5% (CBS, 2017). Arab women in Israel are in double jeopardy. They belong to a Palestinian minority group within a majority Jewish population and are part of a traditional patriarchal society which perceive women as subordinate to men, i.e. as a minority. Compared to men, women report worse physical and mental health (Baron-Epel& Kaplan, 2009; Ministry of Health, 2005) and more depressive symptoms (Blumstein et al., 2012).
Importance of Physical activity for women
Sport in Israel is involved in many aspects, such as gender and ethnic -national factors. The low participation of women in sports occurred prior to the formation of the nation, and it still lags from the lack of men's sport. It seems that the position of women in sport reflects, at least in part, their position in society. Urban Palestinians, particularly women, have reported a high prevalence of coronary heart disease and obesity, something that necessitates an active lifestyle. Many chronic diseases could be easily controlled and prevented by the enforcement of an efficient physical activity program.
Research methods
The research tool used is an In-depth open-ended interview with 10 Muslims Arab Palestinian women that live in the center of Israel, their age ranging from 23-40. They were chosen on the basis of their relationship to sport education institution or because they are known as athletic women who do PA at least three times a week. Most of the respondents are married and have children, while others are in relationships.
Each interview session lasted for at least one and a half hours, with several of them exceeding two hours. The interviews took place in a comfortable place and setting, according to informants’ choice. The interviews were done according to pre-promoted questions, open to development. The questions focused on the description of their personal experience with their exclusion in the Arab society especially in doing PA, as well as for their expectation of fulfilling their aspiration during the next. The analysis is based on interpretation of the worldviews, social constraint and the women's form of agency in response to these constrain. Results
The Arab society is in the transition from patriarchal norms, but it still employed these norms especially in the side of the sport and active life for females. The main theme in the interviews was the women's struggle for self-fulfillment due to opposition from the men in their surroundings. The interviews attested on the same difficulties of being active women in the Arab sector, for instance, lack of knowledge about the importance of sports, having to choose suitable clothes for the women with veil, duties, and tasks as mothers, and the lack of appropriate facilities for doing sport.
These results give the stats of active subjects, why they are still engaged in sports and the difficulties that they face in order to be active. Most of the respondents began learning sports education because they didn't get the opportunity to learn and do sport as they wanted during junior and high school. The girls were often left out while boys participated in these lessons. Also, fifteen years ago, there were no gyms in Arab towns so the only way to be active was either school or neighborhood. This made it hard for the girls to be active because it is not acceptable in the Arab towns for girls or women to engage in activities like running or riding a bicycle.
Patriarchal norms still dominate the Arab sector and highlight the Exclusion even in sport education Lessons
One young woman, sports education teacher, from a small town and traditional family articulates her feeling about started doing and learn the sport
R1: I am so sorry and in pain that, I didn't do any sport in school from fourth grade till I finished school. I have always wanted to be active, and I am on the move at all time. I decided to learn sports education in order to lessen the exclusion of girls and women from doing sport.
Another sports education student from the same town also shares her experience:
R2: Girls were always excluded from sport education lessons. We didn't have a professional teacher for sports education, let alone a female teacher. We would just sit and talk during that lesson. My lack of sports skills in the school made me desire to be a sports education teacher and teach Arab girls the importance of doing sport. To get accepted to sport education study, I had to practice several skills using YouTube.
R3: I started practicing with the aim of losing weight and then I couldn’t stop. I run in marathons in and outside Israel and I also manage a women’s only gym. When I run I do it out of my town after my life was threatened because I planned a marathon race in my town. For this reason, I only train girls running inside the stadium and my gym.
R 4: Women are excluded in Arab society, particularly from the sport. I remember my daughter saying: “mom I want to be a runner like you. Can I go and run in the town?” I allowed her, only for her to return home crying with the claim that a man had told her to “stop running and go home girl!”
Obedient daughters and wives
R5: I wouldn’t go for a walk or a run-in street without my husband’s permission.
Most testimonies were a reflection of the domination of fathers and husbands over these women. The men decided what these women do with their lives both in school and after that. One woman, a 32 years old sports education teacher from a small town and traditional family, shared about choosing learning sports education.
R6: I was an excellent student when I finished high school. My father decided that it is better for me to be a teacher so that I could maintain my family duties while at it. He claimed that “it’s known that you love moving and sport as you are a good soccer player. It’s more suitable for you to be a sports teacher. Indeed, I am not sorry about his decision. But I am so depressed because I couldn't continue with my soccer career. I played as a right defender in the Premier League for two and a half years. When I finished studying and got engaged, I gave up because of the extensive backlash that I received.
Other sports education teachers who had supportive fathers also shared their experiences
R7: I was dominated by my father. He encouraged me to train a lot and to go to college. He escorted me to school and he always pushed me to go ahead. I appreciate him a lot because without him I wouldn’t be the sports education teacher that I am today.
R8: Although my father was so traditional, he always encouraged me to become successful. I wasn’t involved in any sports, so it was very hard to be in college. Good Arab guys helped me in my studies and I am very thankful to them.
Hiding female, Muslim Identity in order to be able doing physical activity
Some subjects reported that they were obliged to hide their identity as female to do sport.
R1: I remember myself as a teenager. I covered my hair with a hat so that I could go to the field to play soccer with my brother. They didn't recognize that I am a girl. My friend’s father invited me to dinner one day and I had to speak like a man.
Other subjects talk about hiding her identity as a Muslim.
R5: I cover my hair with a small veil that doesn't look like the ordinary veil so that I am not recognized as a Muslim.
Inspiration from a foreign source
It’s obvious that most subjects have been inspired by non-Arab personality to do sport.
R9: When I was fifteen, I played tennis-table with a woman from the Czech Republic. After a while, we became friends, and she would invite me when she went for a run. This helped me stay fit and I will be thankful for her all my days.
R10: I have a studio for gymnastic thanks to a Russian lecturer and trainer. She taught me during college. So, I joined her class and she realized my interest in her lessons. She invited me to her home and enriched me with a lot of knowledge in gymnastics.
R7: My swimming teacher was Jewish, when I was 8 years there were no pool even in my town and surely not a swimming coach.
Sport-oriented women
There is a kind of rebellious life by women who refuse to accept the lazy and sitting Arab worldview. These women willing to change ordinary thoughts about active women are said to be influenced by modern western worldview. They dream about increasing the knowledge about the importance of sport on the body and the mined in all Arab women.
R5: My daughters are part of the running team. They keep running and practicing even when they are past training time.
R3: I am aware of the fact that sport help girls being in shape, I encourage my daughter to run. We run and do exercise together.
R7: Each evening I am used to jumping 1000 times and my three children join me
R5: I joined my daughter to a running team. We train with each other and my son started playing soccer from five years of age. I enjoy seeing my little baby, two years old, imitate my exercise motion.
R2: My entire family enjoys healthy food and an active lifestyle.
Contradiction
Although Arab women are excluded from society by men, they are encouraged by a male personality. The subject in this article reported about their journey doing sport.
R1: My father encouraged me to study sports education in college and helped me in the practical exams. I remember his voice in each round of running. I was very tired but his voice let me finish in time. I do it for him, I wouldn’t let him down
R8: My brothers were my trainers.
Discussion
This study focuses on ethnic and gender consideration in understanding the exclusion of women in sports, and it looks into sociological studies that explain the same. Most excluded women came from conservative families that do not encourage female sports. However, I find that ethnic and exclusion dimensions significantly add to the understanding of the phenomenon among Arab women.
The strongest motif that stands out in the analysis focused on the fact that this is an Arab society that is undergoing a difficult restructuring from a patriarchal society to a Western-modern one. Arabs are considered a minority sector, which has alienated the females. The small sample that the study deals with felt that they could fulfill themselves by being active and academic, which is not expected in the patriarchal family. The clear majority of the interviewees had developed high aspirations for self-fulfillment through higher education and development of professional career and active life.
This study supports the sociological studies that explain the exclusion of women in sports by a set of the position that Arab active woman deals with. Each woman faces at least one obstacle when she wants to do sport. In a direct way: people that stopped her or annoy her when she does sport, or indirectly through mother tasks, patriarchal society, and traditions. Generally, women are exposed to sets of constraints that affect their involvement in the sports field. First, there is the exclusion from the structure of sport organization, where there lacks concerns for female teams, guides, coaches, or administrative jobs. Second, the cultural constraints that relate to dress code and norms.
The study highlights the essential stumbling blocks by identifying different forms of feelings of the respondents about the exclusion and acting in sport forms. These include the hope for change, contradiction, mother as a model, sport-oriented women, inspiration from a foreign source, feeling sorry and want to change, obedient daughters and wives, and patriarchal norms. To sum up, exclusion among Arab women from the sport in Israel is a result of several social, political, and financial aspects. The patriarchal structure that Arab have has limited the opportunities for women to engage in sports. However, the rise in women's participation in higher education during the last two decades hints at the possibility of a successful struggle for their rights.
Conclusion
This study tried to clarify the attitudes of Arab-Palestinian Women in Israel when it comes to their exclusion from engaging in physical activity and sports. It presents the different circumstances, difficulties, and barriers that face them. Women are excluded from sports because of traditional lore. However, the interviews conducted show that these women are dedicated to being active, and they often find ways in order to face these barriers. Some of them get support from their family, others hide their identity as women by covering their hair while others hide their Islam identity. This inspiration to stay fit is often drawn from foreign people and ends up trickling down to the rest of the family.
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