IRAQ-FEMALE BASKETBALL TEAM Basra's women basketball team back in action after decades of war

Record ID: 142846

  • Title: IRAQ-FEMALE BASKETBALL TEAM Basra's women basketball team back in action after decades of war
  • Date: 19th August 2015
  • Summary: BASRA, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) FEMALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS TRAINING WITH MALES PLAYERS AT BASRA OLYMPIC HALL VARIOUS OF FEMALES AND MALE PLAYERS TRAINING FEMALE PLAYERS LISTENING TO INSTRUCTION FROM COACH VARIOUS OF FEMALE PLAYERS SITTING ON GROUND LISTENING TO COACH INSTRUCTION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COACH, CAPTAIN ASHOUR KARBOUL ISAUD , SAYING: "Basra lost its female athletes during the ominous war with Iran, and more specifically in mid 1980s, due to the migration of most of Basra families, which in consequence made it very difficult to form a women team. However, we started to form a a nucleolus of a woman team in 2009-2011 and started to train it over the years. We faced many difficulties including the lack of proper training facilities and atmosphere." FEMALE AND MALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS TRAINING VARIOUS OF TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COACH, CAPTAIN ASHOUR KARBOUL ISAUD , SAYING: "It is hard to bring them (female players) together in Baghdad or in any other provinces in order to decide the formation of the team. It is difficult to travel with them abroad and find them accommodation. It is similarly difficult when they return back because we have to deliver each player to her parents in person and get them sign a paper that they have received their daughter, let alone daily phone calls from their families and from us to check after on their safety." VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COACH, CAPTAIN ASHOUR KARBOUL ISAUD, SAYING: "We will never be like other countries, because the society thinks that women are born for marriage, their place is in the kitchen. They are not yet very welcomed in the work fields let alone sports. As soon as the girl grows up, her family thinks of getting her married. But the fact is when the player gets older, her skills and performance improve. Therefore, whenever I made efforts to train them and move them to advanced levels, they were forced by their parents to quit to get married or to stay at home and do the cooking and the cleaning." VARIOUS OF ASSISTANT COACH WITH TEAM DURING TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FEMALE BASKETBALL PLAYER, ALA SATTAR JABER, SAYING: "Women in basketball or sports in general is unacceptable. Maybe unacceptable is not the right word, we can rather say that it is still not very common, however we have something in mind and we will achieve it, God willing." VARIOUS OF MALES AND FEMALES BASKETBALL PLAYERS TRAINING
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAHZEYUCJUGMBV9873U4T4UJ9O
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: After three decades of absence, Basra female basketball team is back to the court winning domestic tournament and preparing for upcoming matches.
    Migration of Basra's well-educated upper and middle class, which constitutes the backbone of sports in the city following the eruption of Iraq-Iran war (1980-88) and the growing influence of Shi'ite religious parties and militias in the predominantly Shi'ite city of Basra following the fall of the regime in 2003 have forced many women of the city to abandon sports out of fear for their lives and their families.
    But that has now changed and a new young team of female basketball players has now been formed in Basra.
    Its coach Ashour Karbouli Isaud explains how the team came together.
    "Basra lost its female athletes during the ominous war with Iran, and more specifically in mid 1980s, due to the migration of most of Basra families, which in consequence made it very difficult to form a women team. However, we started to form a a nucleolus of a woman team in 2009-2011 and started to train it over the years. We faced many difficulties including the lack of proper training facilities and atmosphere," he said.
    Following the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003, violence became a part of everyday life for Iraqis, with tens of thousands killed in an insurgency and sectarian violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Muslims.
    Isaud had to overcome many obstacles to pursue his goal of forming a a women basketball team, from inadequate training facilities to social restrictions and taboos that make it very difficult if not impossible for women to travel abroad alone to take part in competition and championships.
    But after more than four years of hard work, Isaud managed to form a team of 11 players between the average age of 15 and 16 years old including four players from Basra, three from Baghdad, three others from Nassiriya and one from Hilla.
    His efforts were crowned with the first official participation last year when his team came second in Iraq's basketball cup competitions.
    "It is hard to bring them (female players) together in Baghdad or in any other provinces in order to decide the formation of the team. It is difficult to travel with them abroad and find them accommodation. It is similarly difficult when they return back because we have to deliver each player to her parents in person and get them sign a paper that they have received their daughter, let alone daily phone calls from their families and from us to check on their safety," Isuad said.
    The team is sponsored and funded by Basra Maritime Club and the Iraqi Olympic Committee.
    Each player gets a salary of 250 thousand Iraqi dinars ($200) a month to cover transportation cost.
    Speaking about some of the obstacles the female players face, Isuad spoke of the society's perception of women which he thinks still hinders their participation in the sport.
    "We will never be like other countries, because the society thinks that women are born for marriage, their place is in the kitchen. They are not yet very welcomed in the work fields let alone sports. As soon as the girl grows up, her family thinks of getting her married. But the fact is when the player gets older, her skills and performance improve. Therefore, whenever I made efforts to train them and move them to advanced levels, they were forced by their parents to quit to get married or to stay at home and do the cooking and the cleaning," he said.
    During the long rule of Saddam, who suppressed Islamists, Iraqi women in urban areas had some of the most casual dress codes in the Middle East.
    But conservative Islamist influence has spread since the U.S.-led invasion removed Saddam in 2003, leading to stricter interpretations of Islam in many parts of Iraq.
    Many in the Shi'ite Islamist political parties imposed strict Islamic rules in southern provinces and used their armed followers to create a state of fear.
    However, player Ala Sattar Jaber who trains with male players under the watchful eyes of coach Isaud said that social restrictions have not prevented her from pursuing her passion for sport.
    "Women in basketball or sports in general is unacceptable. Maybe unacceptable is not the right word, we can rather say that it is still not very common, however we have something in mind and we will achieve it, God willing," she said.
    The team comes second in Iraq's basketball leagues in 2014 and is now preparing to take part in Kurdistan Super Basketball Cup, scheduled later this month. If it wins first place, the team will represent Iraq in Arab and world tournaments.
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