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Women flock to see first female football game in West Bank
Al Ram, West Bank (CNN) — The Faisal al Husseini football stadium was packed, two hours before kick off, with a noisy sea of Palestinian flags and white hijabs.
Football matches are always a big deal in the West Bank, but this game was more significant than most. 10,000 women had flocked to the stadium, on the outskirts of East Jerusalem and a mere few meters from the separation barrier that snakes around the West Bank, to watch a historic football match few would have believed possible just a few years ago: the Palestinian women’s national team were to play Jordan in their first ever home international.
Both teams gave laps of honor before the start of the game to mark an occasion that is rare in the Middle East. Football is hugely popular amongst women in the region but the development of the game has largely been held back by a social conservatism that disapproves of women playing what are deemed ‘men’s’ sports.
In Kuwait, attempts to set up a women’s national team was met with outrage in the country’s parliament. The move was halted after Waleed al Tabtabae, a hard line Islamist MP who chairs a committee charged with weeding out ‘phenomena strange to society’ decided that a women’s football team was ‘un-Islamic’.
“Committee members expressed their indignation…and total rejection of the idea of the women’s football team on the grounds that football is not suitable for women,” Tabtabae told the Kuwait Times.
The UAE has only this year launched its own national team. A handful of teams exist in Saudi Arabia, although they are confined to the more liberal university campuses and have to be played in front of small, women-only crowds. In Iran women are banned from attending football matches and have to wear the hijab when they play, even in tournaments abroad.
The Palestinian team has had its own, unique problems to deal with. Set up in 2003 at Bethlehem University, Israeli movement restrictions meant it was impossible to practice on the West Bank’s sole grass pitch in Jericho. Instead, they had to train on a concrete handball court and play against local boy’s teams.
Read more at CNN
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BAD NEWS
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"The president's reversal on Patriot Act reform is a major travesty," said Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel for the leading civil rights group ACLU, in an interview with Raw Story. "There have been many, many abuses of power in the last four Continue reading ACLU: Obama’s reversal on Patriot Act reform ‘a major travesty’
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- In The Trenches on Climate Change, Hostility Among Foes
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- Al-Qaeda in Iraq regaining strength
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- British Army Investigated for Torture and Murder in Iraq
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- Suicide Bomber Strikes in Western Afghanistan
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Taliban suicide bombers struck for the second day straight throughout Afghanistan.
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Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf denied responsibility in a phone call to Reuters.
But the governor of Farah province said the Taliban back down from taking responsibility Continue reading Suicide Bomber Strikes in Western Afghanistan
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GOOD NEWS
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Continue reading Rwanda: First Landmine Free Country
- China Opens First Official Gay Bar
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Continue reading China Opens First Official Gay Bar
- UK and France Propose Climate Fund for Poor
November 27, 2009 | 8:53 pmUK PM Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have proposed a multi-billion-dollar fund to help developing nations deal with climate change.
Mr Brown said the $10bn (£6bn) fund should also be used to help developing nations cut greenhouse gas
Continue reading UK and France Propose Climate Fund for Poor
- Pakistan captures wanted South Waziristan Taliban commander
November 27, 2009 | 8:18 pmPakistani security forces recently detained a mid-level Taliban commander who was wanted by the government.
Abdullah Shah Mehsud, who was number 17 on the list of 20 most-wanted Taliban commanders from South Waziristan, was captured by Pakistani forces in the district of Tank. He is an “active member of Hakeemullah Mehsud Group from Shaktoi village near Razmak” in North
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- Dobbs Reaches Out to Latinos, With Politics in Mind
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Mr. Dobbs, who left the network last week, has said in recent days that he is considering a third-party run for a New Jersey Senate seat in 2012, or possibly for president. Polls show voters unhappy with both parties, and strategists believe Mr. Dobbs could tap populist anger over economy issues just as Ross Perot did in the
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- Obama Offers Fixed Targets for US Emissions Cuts
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- Healthy Worker Programs Survive Economic Crisis
November 24, 2009 | 12:03 amNEW YORK (Reuters) – Keeping workers healthy, happy and at work through so-called wellness programs remains a priority for many companies despite financial pressures from the global economic downturn, a survey found on
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- US Involved in Secret Talks with Senior Taliban
November 23, 2009 | 5:45 pmISLAMABAD: The Obama administration may be close to reversing course on its current strategy in Afghanistan, after our sources quoted as saying that high-level talks with senior Taliban militants are currently
Continue reading US Involved in Secret Talks with Senior Taliban
- Hopes for Copenhagen Climate Summit Boosted
November 22, 2009 | 11:22 pmHopes for the Copenhagen climate summit in December have been boosted after it emerged that more than 60 presidents and prime ministers plan to attend.
There had been concern that no strong agreement would emerge from the talks in Copenhagen.
But observers say the presence of so many leading government figures will radically increase
Continue reading Hopes for Copenhagen Climate Summit Boosted
- Russia Launches Program to Save Tigers Worldwide
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Continue reading Russia Launches Program to Save Tigers Worldwide
- As Afghans Resist Taliban, U.S. Spurs Rise of Militias
November 22, 2009 | 11:29 amACHIN, Afghanistan — American and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan, prompting hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the
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- Glowing bugs could find landmines
November 21, 2009 | 3:40 pmBacteria which glow green in the presence of explosives could provide a cheap and safe way to find hidden landmines, Edinburgh scientists claim.
The bugs can be mixed into a colourless solution, which forms green patches when sprayed onto ground where mines are
Continue reading Glowing bugs could find landmines
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