We recently discussed the scandal in Iran where a young girl was barred from an international competition for failing to adhere to Islamic rules requiring the covering of a girl’s hair. We now have another outrageous decision barring a girl under medieval Islamic principles. The head judge (and director) of the competition in Putrajaya, Malaysia forced a female competitor to withdraw after declaring her knee length skirt be “seductive.” Pretty sensitive for a sport with such term as
“exposed King”, “loose position,” and “flash the Queen.”
The girl simply wanted to complete in the National Scholastic Chess Championship but, as explained by her coach, “the Tournament Director deemed my student’s dress to be ‘seductive’ and a ‘temptation from a certain angle far, far away.'”
The judge reportedly apologized after the public backlash but the girl was still prevented from competing. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) Laws of Chess’ dress code only requires participants in tournaments to have a “dignified appearance.”
This was the “seductive outfit”:
Given the Iranian and Malaysian incidents, there remains a serious question of whether chess competitions should be held in countries where girls and women are subjected to such discriminatory laws.
Let’s not bomb Malaysia because of this.
First, I find such strict mandatory dress codes to be discriminatory and repressive.
If a strict Islamic dress code was to be applied, then that should have been communicated ahead of time to the participants. We can have no input on the dress codes of other countries, or their other repressive treatment of women, but we can certainly voice our opposition.
On another note, it is discriminatory to women to hold any international athletic, chess, or other competitions in countries where women are oppressed. I don’t care about offending anyone, excluding anyone, or the lack of moral relativity. Safety comes before feelings. We should not put our men and women in danger or at a disadvantage by agreeing to hold such competitions in venues where, for example, extremist Islamic regimes would abuse or treat unfairly women, Jews, Christians, LGBT, etc. Nor would I hold them in areas where there is an outbreak of Zika, massive air pollution, or other hazards. Such countries can participate in safer venues.
His apology, after the fact and due to the backlash, is meaningless. The tournament was over at that point and there was no possibility of the damage being reversed.
““the Tournament Director deemed my student’s dress to be ‘seductive’ and a ‘temptation from a certain angle far, far away.’”
For him.
This is what happens when you have a culture that instead of protecting society from the sinful nature of the men, you protect the men from the temptation of their sinful nature. This director found this young lady seductive and a temptation. She’s not the problem, he is. Kick him out.
It does seem to send the message that Islamic men are unable to control their urges, if their eyes must be sheltered from every desirable stimuli. And that girl appears to be quite young to have been an object of temptation to that judge. They need to dispel with the “she’s asking for it” mentality, and the license to control women.
Somehow, miraculously, Westernized Islamic men manage to heel-toe it through the day in the States around modern women’s fashions and not fall apart. Maybe someone should explain that to Malaysia.
Exactly.
I suspect the judge didn’t want to take a chance on a girl winning. Nothing new in that. Male egos are such fragile things.
bettykath – when you are playing chess at that level, you would not even notice if it was a girl. It is just someone on the other side of the table you are hoping to beat.
When it comes to Islam we have: checkmate. And if you check your mate you might go to Hell.
I think we needed to see the face. He really may have been against her teen beauty. As a teen, a girl in any outfit would keep my blood-pressure rising. 🙂
She was just tooo good. She could not be allowed to play. I predict that similar things will begin to happen in the USA if they haven’t already.
The judge reportedly apologized after the public backlash but the girl was still prevented from competing
~+~
Apologized yet offered nothing to reinstate the girl. Not much of an apology it seems.
Whatever happened to a decent respect for multiculturism??? When in Malaysia—
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter