Women's News December 20, 2011

Slide show and article on women in the Muslim Brotherhood.

A cute article about Coaching Women's Basketball in Qatar.

Female drivers in Kabul, Afghanistan, and why we should listen to Afghan women.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update V

The president of UEFA (Union of European Football Agencies) is giving his opinion for the 2022 World Cup to be held all over the Gulf, not just in Qatar.  He's already suggested moving it to the winter months in Qatar.  And as I posted earlier, the president of FIFA has met with representatives from some Gulf countries who are interested in helping out Qatar.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update IV

Now the president of FIFA is weighing in, saying that the World Cup will probably be in January, instead of over the summer.  He's in Qatar right now for the Asian Cup.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update III

The FIFA player's union has joined calls for moving the 2022 World Cup to the winter months.  They cite the extreme heat and humidity of Qatari summers as their main concerns.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update II

There is a movement starting that thinks maybe the World Cup in Qatar should be held in December or January, when the weather is cooler.  This would mean changes to the European football schedule.  A plus for holding the Cup in winter is that different countries would be available for hosting, since winter in the northern hemisphere is summer in the southern hemisphere.  The president of FIFA also met with representatives for Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait; these countries could help host the games.  Qatar would have to be the one requesting it though.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update I

I've been seeing a lot of articles in the US about how horrible it is that Qatar won the bid for World Cup in 2022 and it's really getting on my nerves.  There have been 19 World Cups so far.  In 2010, the first one was held in Africa.  In 2002, the first one was held in Asia, in Korea and Japan.  Otherwise, all of the World Cups have been held in Europe or Latin America, plus the US in 1994.  In my mind, this seems to deny half the world the opportunity to have a World Cup in their country or region.  Which is why I'm getting so irritated at these articles blasting Qatar and FIFA.

Let me reply to some of the complaints listed in the Yahoo! article I linked to above.

1) "heat, which will force fans and players to endure temperatures soaring over 100 degrees during the tournament."
Yes, because it's not hot in the southern US where the 1994 World Cup was held.  Oh wait, it is.  I watched that World Cup.  It was very hot, and in the southern US it's also very humid.  In Qatar, it's not as humid.  And yes, there is a big difference between dry heat and humid heat.

2) "impracticality of hosting a global event in a nation with only one major city"
As long as their airport has the capacity, and there are enough hotels, I don't see the problem.  One could even make the case that the teams and fans won't have to travel as much when they play.  Qatar is bordered by Saudi Arabia and the sea, so there won't be much foreign travel from there (SA).  But I could see Bahrain and the UAE picking up tourism and helping to transport them to the games.

3) "security risks of staging it in the midst of a politically unstable region"
Really?  Considering how many World Cups have been held in Central and South America, you're going to trot out security?  Qatar is a stable country in the Middle East.  They're one of the only Middle Eastern countries to have an Israeli trade office.

4) "Qatar’s political alliance with Iran"
Qatar is located directly across maybe 40 miles of water from Iran.  Most of the Gulf States are.  Qatar and Iran have an economic relationship, and Qatar believes Iran should be able to use "peaceful nuclear technology."  Oh no!  If they don't condemn Iran, I guess that means they're evil!


5) "Qatari women still suffering from routine sexual discrimination"
At least this is a valid argument.  Although Qatar is making inroads into equality, and hopefully will soon have elections for the Majlis al-Shura.

To me, this just sounds like sour grapes.  If Australia had won the bid, I don't see this much reaction from the US about it.  But how dare some pipsqueak little Arab country that we have to protect win it instead of us.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup

And as you can imagine, the Qataris are ecstatic.  They are the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup and beat out the US, Australia, South Korea, and Japan.  More info on the bidding process.  Personally, I think it's about time a Middle Eastern country got the bid, considering how big football (soccer) is there.

Lebanon is Breaking

The factions went to Qatar to talk things over. Qatar proposed a unity cabinet, but it doesn't seem to be going over well. Let's hope this doesn't descend into another civil war.

Gulf News

A lot of news from the Gulf this week.

*Women in Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch says that the way their rights are curtailed, they're treated like children.

*Who needs GMT when you could have Mecca Time! Some scholars think Mecca should replace GMT, especially as it's a product of colonialism that was imposed on them by the British. Also some info about a Mecca Watch that shows the direction of Mecca. No pictures, unfortunately.

*Condoleezza Rice is in the Gulf too, for the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) meeting in Bahrain.

*And Ethiopia has broken it relations with Qatar, claiming they are funding rebels from Eritrea.

Bush in Israel

I'll have more on this later. For now, Bush is in Israel visiting Olmert and Abbas - but not Hamas. So that's half the Palestinians not involved right there. The Gulf Times out of Qatar has an article about the visit, including this gem:

"Gift shop owner Tareq Abu Dayya is marking the visit by selling Bush look-alike dolls wearing cowboy-style jackets which dance to country and western music."

Smart ID Cards in Qatar

Apparently Qatar has jumped on the ID Card wagon. According to the Gulf Times, all Qatari nationals have one and the expats will be getting them soon. Let's hope they have better luck guarding data than the UK who is working on their own version.

More on cluster bombs

Well, I hadn't planned it this way, but apparently this is a day to talk about Israel. Shimon Peres talked with Al Jazeera while he was in Qatar. According to him, dropping the cluster bombs was a mistake. You can read the full interview here.

Not quite from Israel

Israeli Deputy Premier Shimon Peres is visiting with the Emir of Qatar - in Qatar. I, for one, am all for Arab-Israeli relations. Hopefully things will turn out well.