Women & Sports Festival
Friday 17th November 2006

The Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) organized a one-week ‘Women and Sports’ festival in The Gambia to bring into focus the importance of the participation of women in sports as a means of keeping fit and mainstreaming women in the decision-making process.

I. The theme of the programme is mainstreaming women and sports and development “from rhetoric to action,”

according to Ms Beatrice Allen, a member of the IOC.

In The Gambia, over 80 per cent of the population are Muslim, and 50 per cent are women; also ,culture is well engrained. Sometimes, even interpretations of religious doctrines are influenced by cultural norms and values, making it extremely difficult to identify the dichotomy between religious injunctions, and tradition and cultural practices.

On the other hand, The Gambian society is patriarchal in nature and highly male dominated. The subordination of women and girls relegate them to the homes, not on the basis of laws and policies, but by the imposition of cultural and traditional values that militate against them-economically, socially and politically.

II. The Woman Factor and Sports development in The Gambia:

The Women in Sports concept has a heavy cultural underpinning in it, and in The Gambia, people view this concept from the following perspectives:

1. that women already engage in sports on a daily basis, particularly in the rural areas- that is, they wake up early in the morning, do all the household chores, walk long distances to their farms, plough the land, carry bundles of firewood and walk long distances back home.

2. that women spend a lot time dancing during festivities – and this tends to expel a lot of stress and fat, and therefore, help in re-charging their energies for the multiple chores in which they are engaged.

As physical fitness is one objective of sports, the above rhetoric makes people to believe that women’s tasks engage them from dawn to dusk, and therefore prevent them from obesity and heart diseases. Also, because because dancing in itself is exercise, as well as the pounding of cereals, these activities should keep women fit.

But the above mentioned activities are part and parcel of women’s triple roles of productive, reproductive, and volunteerism in community management work.

Women perform these tasks as an obligation, and not as part of leisure.

Therefore, there is a gross misconception about women’s access to sports.

Another area of the misconceptions regarding women’s participation in sports is the image that society portrays of women in sports. This is because culturally for women :

ß  The dress code is in conflict with Gambian traditional norms and values, which dictate that women must cover their bodies. Therefore, for the involvement of women in sports, the sporting gears must be tied to the dress code of not exposing the legs and other parts of our bodies.

ß  The belief that exercise and sports are harmful to the female reproductive system and menstrual cycle, and it is strongly believed that girls can easily lose their virginity, or cease to menstruate, or they may have difficulties during childbirth.

ß  The beliefs that involvement in sports will cause women to develop physical masculine characteristics, and they may not be appealing to men.

But, on the contrary, there is evidence that childbirth is easier and recovery faster for women who are engaged in moderate exercise during pregnancy.

Traditionally, pregnant women are advised not to be lazy and to take long walks as part of their daily exercise, with the belief that this will make childbirth easier.

Finally, most of the Islamic forms of worship such as prayers, fasting and pilgrimage display some sportive characteristics, although they are basically and by nature meant for spiritual purposes. This is because, according to Islamic values, a healthy mind can only function effectively in a state of physical well-being, and that a healthy body cannot be maintained without adequate physical exercise. Therefore, women should not be marginalized in physical education or sporting activities.

III. Strategies employed by the IOC in promoting Women in Sports:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), in its strive to promote women’s participation in sporting activities has adopted an advocacy strategy aimed at creating awareness on the importance of women’s role in sports. One of such advocacy programmes was the Centennial Olympic Congress, held in Paris in 1994 of which, one of the themes was ‘the role of women in the Olympic Movement.’ It was on the basis of the Congress’ final report that the IOC came up with a decision for the advancement of women in sport at all levels:

ß  That, all Federations and other bodies belonging to the Olympic Movement should establish a goal of 10 per cent women representation in all positions of decision-making by year 2000, and 20 per cent by year 2005;

ß  That, all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will establish a goal of 10 per cent women representation in all positions of decision-making by year 2000, and 20 per cent by the year 2005;

ß  That, the international federations will take measures to train women Coaches and Administrators;

ß  That, NOCs will undertake programmes to promote women in sport, and in their technical and administrative capacities.

The Olympic Charter was thus amended to include women’s role in the Olympic Movement, in exercise of the principle of equality between men and women. It is based on this legal framework that NOCs have been implementing the strategy of mainstreaming women in sports and in all sporting structures.

IV. Strategies Employed by The GNOC in promoting women in sports:

The GNOC Constitution, in accordance with the Olympic Charter “pledges to protect the Olympic Movement in The Gambia, promote sports, sports ethics, peace, women in sports, concerns for the environment, and to fight against doping and other undesirable activities prohibited by The Charter”. This forms the basis for all GNOC programmes and activities, particularly on women and sports.

The process of mainstreaming women in sports started in 1993, when the Gambia National Olympic Committee got 2 elected women members in the Bureau, with one woman being the First Vice President.

In 1998, based on the policy of the International Olympic Committee to mainstream women in sports, the GNOC in partnership with the Government, the United Nations Development Programme, Sabena International Airlines, and Olympic Solidarity, organized the first women in sports seminar in The Gambia.

This Seminar laid the foundation for formulation and adoption of the first National Sports Policy for The Gambia (1999-2008).

One of the goals of the policy was: to integrate sports into national development policy and programmes and one of the objectives was “to involve more women and girls in the promotion and development of sports.” Through the policy formulation process, the Gambian public has developed an appreciation for women’s positions in sports management, and the need to mainstream women in sporting plans and strategies. The GNOC has established a Women and Sports Sub-Committee, to plan and implement sporting programmes for women, in particular.