By Jehan Al-Shatti KUWAIT NEWS AGENCY
KUWAIT, Nov 19 (KUNA) — Arab and Muslim women have the strength and determination to break boundaries within sports, said the Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and former Moroccan gold medalist Nawal Al-Moutawakel here Tuesday.
In an exclusive interview by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on the sidelines of the IOC women and sports forum which began here, Al-Moutawakel said that women in Africa and Asia could achieve whatever goal they set for themselves, noting that on the GCC level, women in this region could excel in sports if they had strong determination and will.
“GCC women, in specific, should be patient and determined to become leaders within sport to ensure that regulations provide equal sports rights with their male counterparts,” she said.
Women have the capability to play an integral part in global sports development, saying that the paper she presented during the first session of the forum aimed at breaking the boundaries set against women within sports.
Al-Moutawakel said that her participation in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and winning the 400 meters hurdles enabled the world to know that Morocco had women athletes that could compete on the international level.
She said that the next logical step for women in sport is to hold senior positions at world sports organizations such as the IOC, affirming that such goal was attainable.
She took the chance to thank Kuwait for hosting the event and it would improve the status of women sports in Africa and Asia.
The Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and former Moroccan gold medalist Nawal Al-Moutawakel
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates