by Martin Rundkvist

Her's an interesting case regarding Muslim women's veils.  They're instruments or symbols of patriarchal represssion, right?  Well, check this out.

Dania Mahmudi is from my area, Fisksatra.  She's 14 years old and wears a veil.  Mahmudi has been practicing Karate for 5 years.  Two weeks ago she went with her club to the district championship, eager to compete.  But the umpire disqualified her- for the veil's sake.  It covered her throat and the rules say the umpire has to watch for damage to each contestant's throat.  O.K. said her coach after a heated argument, so she can't do the hand to hand part of the competition.   Surely the sole performance element, kata, will be no problem given this reasoning.  No, she was disqualified there too.

Things are changing in the karate world.  You couldn't compete wearing any kind of veil last year.  When it became allowed, Iran's women's teams immediately took a world cup metal at kata- wearing regulation veils.

My guess is that the problem will be solved a couple years from now.  I have no idea whether Mahmudi's are forcing her to wear the veil.  But I do know that they are fine with their daughter practicing kata for years at a dojo half an hour from home.  Competition rules are apparently a bigger problem for her athletic career. Luckily, Mahmudi isn't about to give up.  She's aiming for the world cup.