Dressed in hijab and the Islamic headscarfs, the Saudi Arabia’s first female Olympic athletes join the opening ceremony of London Olympics on Friday.
Ending their longstanding practice of sending male-only teams to the world’s biggest sporting event, Saudi Arabia alongside Brunei and Qatar has finally sent female athletes to the Olympics after much dithering. When the international Judo Federation president Marius Vizer said Shaherkani would have to fight without a hijab the powerful clerics denounced it and Saudi Arabia threatened to withdraw from the Olympics unless the female judo athlete was allowed to wear her hijab.
Finally Saudi Arabia’s Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani and Sarah Attar walked alongside their male fellow team members, wearing traditional hijabs at the opening ceremony of London Olympics. Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani and Sarah Attar will compete in the +78kg category in judo and 800 metres respectively. Brunei has sent the runner Maziah Mahusin.