The Qatar women’s basketball team have reserved from the Asian Games in South Korea after being refused permission to dress up the Hijab during matches. The players were requested to take away the Islamic head scarf before taking on Mongolia but rejected and forfeited. World basketball polices listed headgear and hair accessories among the items that are forbidden on court. With no symbol that the rule could be comfortable before their next match against Nepal, the team determined to pull out.
According to source, basketball’s world governing body Fiba told its polices applied “on a global scale and without any religious implication”. The statement added: “whereas definite groups have taken the necessities of the official basketball rules as a prohibited against the contribution of players of sure faiths in basketball opposition, the uniform polices are of a simply sporting nature.” Other sports at the Asian Games permit sportsperson to dress in the Hijab. all four members of the Iranian lightweight women’s quadruple sculls team wore it as they lined to a bronze medal on Wednesday.
Basketball remains one of the exceptions, although Fiba said earlier this month that it had held discussions on the issue and was introducing two-year testing phase on what players can wear. “We were informed that we would be able to take part in matches by dressing in a Hijab,” she said. They would not participate any games in this Asian Games until the officials alter their decision.
