Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Scores High for Female Sports in Gaza
Female athletes face discrimination in the Gaza Strip, and those with disabilities even more so, but the female wheelchair basketballers are tenaciously overcoming the hardships
The Palestine Red Crescent team emerged victorious in the women’s wheelchair basketball tournament final at Saad Sayel Hall in Gaza City on Monday, closing Gaza’s Paralympic Games.
This was seen as a remarkable achievement, considering the large number of challenges the young women face.
“This was the first time for the Red Crescent women to join a competition, yet they showed a spectacular performance and deservedly managed to win, in spite of the great challenges surrounding this sport in Gaza,” match referee Ahmad Zourob told The Media Line.
After receiving intensive training, four teams participated in the women’s wheelchair basketball competition, which was sponsored by the Bank of Palestine. On the first day, the Palestine Red Crescent team faced Al-Farisat club, followed by a round between Al-Salam and Al-Jazira clubs. On Monday, Red Crescent defeated Al-Salam to take home the trophy.
The Gaza Strip has been besieged for years, so the difficult living conditions, in addition to the lack of awareness regarding the issues of people with disabilities, all of these put many obstacles in front of women with disabilities who want to participate in sports
Sawsan Al-Khalili, a member of the Palestinian Paralympic Committee with a mobility disability, told The Media Line that female athletes with disabilities face many difficulties, especially in the Gaza Strip.
“The Gaza Strip has been besieged for years, so the difficult living conditions, in addition to the lack of awareness regarding the issues of people with disabilities, all of these put many obstacles in front of women with disabilities who want to participate in sports,” she said.
“On the one hand, they have to face society’s derogatory view of disabled people, and this burden increases because they are women in particular. They have to confront the wrongful cultural legacies of a society that considers this type of sport to be a male-only sport.”
But Al-Khalili said the real obstacle “is the lack of sports equipment suitable for players with mobility disabilities, such as sports wheelchairs. We have been using semi-perishable chairs since 2014 and are still hoping to find some kind of support to pursue our activities.”
Red Crescent defeated Al-Salam in the women’s wheelchair basketball tournament final at Saad Sayel Hall in Gaza City, Aug. 21, 2023. (Hazem Albaz)
Zourob said there had been huge progress in the women’s performances since they first began playing.
“When they first started playing more than three years ago, they didn’t know anything about the basic skills of playing basketball,” he said. “But in today’s match, we saw a successful practical application of the most important sports techniques, which qualifies them to participate in international competitions.”
However, the blockading of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt since 2007, when Hamas took control of the coastal enclave, and the consequent restrictions on freedom of movement for Gazan athletes have made this goal a distant dream.
We rely on our personal diligence and try to gain knowledge through online training courses, which are not enough, of course, but this is the best we can do
“Gaza is always a special case,” Zourob said. “Because of the current political circumstances, we can’t travel and participate in international competitions. We can’t exchange experiences with international experts either, and we have never had the chance to learn how to actually deal with athletes with disabilities, so we rely on our personal diligence and try to gain knowledge through online training courses, which are not enough, of course, but this is the best we can do.”
Despite all the hurdles, the athletes are determined to make a difference and achieve their goals. If in the beginning basketball was entertainment for them, now it has become a space for them to express themselves, enjoy life, and integrate into society.
“Before joining the club, I did not like going out of my house,” Shayma Abdelal, 22, a player on the winning Palestine Red Crescent team, told The Media Line. “I didn’t like interacting with people due to my weak personality, but now I am stronger and more open to others, and I have become more confident in myself.”
Areej Ayesh, who plays for the rival Al-Salam team, shared a similar view.
“In the beginning, I did not like this sport and I thought it was very difficult, but after my friends encouraged me to join the team, I became more active in my community and new horizons opened up for me,” she told The Media Line. “It freed my soul, which gave me the ability to integrate with society. I’m now engaged with several organizations.”
Ayesh called on governmental bodies to pay more attention to female sports in the Gaza Strip, and said she hoped that one day she would be able to participate in international competitions and represent her country in international forums.
