Nawal El Moutawakel, first female Olympic champion from an Islamic nation
April 17, 2007 by Sasha Manuel
Filed under Sports Rumors
Nawal El Moutawakel, one of the most famous Moroccan athletes, is an Olympian who won the women’s 400m hurdles at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Moutawakel’s the first Muslim and African female Olympic champion. Her winning the gold medal in her sport signals a breakthrough for other female athletes in Morocco, her home country and other Islamic nations.
Did you know that according to Wikipedia, “The King of Morocco declared that all girls born the day of her victory were to be named in her honour.”
Another trivia is that Moutawakel was one of the eight flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.
Moutawakel celebrated her 45th birthday last 15 April 2007.
Source: olympic.org | Wikipedia
Correction:
I’m not Muslim, so my seeing nothing wrong with female Muslims being athletes might not hold a lot of water. I’ve read the Quran. Didn’t see any prohibition against it. But then I only read it once.
What’s she doing nowadays? She looked good then. Does she still look as good? Is she coaching? Was she the inspiration for the several others I’ve been seeing?
The opinion in the Muslim world seems to be very mixed on the how much covering is appropriate for their woman. Most appear to want their women covered from head to toe. (didn’t see that in the Quran either) I see nothing wrong with that opinion provided the women voluntarily agree (my daughters are well covered, though not as total as the Muslim women), but I’m sure that there must be some way it can be done without giving them so much disadvantage on the track.
Come on you sports clothing designers and experts, help them out.