Female athletes face double standards over uniforms – Muslims Down Under respond to issue of systemic gender discrimination

Muslims Down Under

Media Opportunity: Live interview of Managing Director of Muslims Down Under.

Athletes, regardless of gender, should feel comfortable in what they wear. Instead we see female competitors being issued fines for wearing modest uniforms at the Tokyo Olympics. Female athletes who are being scrutinised for their choice of sportswear are experiencing new levels of gender discrimination and sexism.
Forcing female athletes to wear something they are not comfortable in, is not only a distraction on their performance but unjust, degrading and impractical. Allowing women to choose what they wear does not make them less capable of representing their country at a global sporting event.
Mandating dress codes for women to make them feel uncomfortable about their bodies in public at the cost of compromising their freedoms, sense of dignity and security is against the spirit of Olympism – which is to instil and develop the values and ideals of tolerance and understanding in these increasingly troubled times in which we live, to make our world a more peaceful place.
Muslims Down Under address the ongoing issue of oppression, double standards and gender discrimination, explaining why this current issue is not a new issue; women have been fighting for basic human rights for centuries.
The concept of women’s rights and gender equality is at the forefront of inequalities that continue to inflict society, even at a public, global event like the Olympics. Islam provides guidelines establishing equality for women in the truest sense. It urges both genders to dress modestly as a sign of respect and empowerment.
/Public Release.