The Sharjah Ladies Club's (SLC) Women Sport Department participated in the 21st congress of the International Association of Sports Law (IASL 2015) held from November 3-5 in Marrakech, Morocco, for the first time in the Middle East.The three-day event was held under the patronage and in the presence of LahsenSekkouri, Moroccan Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr Dimitrios P. Panagiotopoulos, President of the International Federation of Sports law, Saud bin Abdul Aziz, Member of the Arab Olympic Committees and a large number of international experts in sports law from all over the world.The Moroccan minister gave an inaugural speech and then toured the congress, accompanied by Dr Majid Qaroub, Head of the congress's Organizing Committee, Sheikha Naima Al Sabah, President of the Women's Sporting Committee for Kuwait's Football Federation and Chairperson of the GCC Women's Sports Organising Committee, and former Moroccan Olympic champion NezhaBidouane, Head of the Women: Achievements and Values in Morocco, Ahlam Al Mana, head of the Qatar Women's Sport Committee.
The Moroccan minister visited the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) section where he showed a strong interest in being updated with the latest developments about the AWST 2016, which will take place in Sharjah from February 2-12, 2016.Nada Al Naqbi, Manager of the SLC's Women Sports Department was invited to the 21st congress of the International Association of Sports Law (IASL 2015) in recognition of her contributionto sports and her effective initiatives in women's sports in GCC countries. Al Naqbi gave a lecture titled "Women and Sports" during a session chaired by Sheikha Naima Al Sabah and co-chaired by Ahlam Al Mana, head of the Qatar Women's Sport Committee.In her lecture, Al Naqbi talked about the reality of women’s sport in the UAE since the creation of the Union, recalling the role of Emirati leaders in encouraging women to perform all kinds of sports, as well as the significant developments seen by the UAE in women's sports. She referred to the establishment of the General Women's Union and the first ladies Club in Sharjah, and the UAE Women's Sport Committee. Al Naqbi highlighted women's sporting achievements, including the allocation of a seat for women in all sports federations, the institution of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Award for Women Athletics and the establishment of the Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy.
Al Naqbi called for the need to issue fair laws that respect the different cultures in women's sport, citing the international rule that deprives women wearing a Hijab from playing basketball. She said, “How can a law deprive womenwearing a hijab from participation in international basketball tournaments? There is a way to change these rules, as we have seen in swimming. There are challenges for Arab women in sports such as the lack of Emirati legal specialists in sports in general, and in women's sports in particular. Other countries have recently given special attention to this area and are eager to seek assistance form legal sports experts, in addition to experts in women's sports, which are no less important than sports practiced by men.”Al Naqbihighlighted the most prominent institutions and clubs concerned with supporting and developing women's sports in the UAE. She spoke in detail about the Sharjah Ladies Club and the immense support it receives from Her Highness SheikhaJawaherbint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and Chairperson of the Sharjah Ladies Club. Al Naqbi also underlined the various initiatives and sporting events organised by the Women Sports Department, most notably Arab Women Sports Tournament.The event included several lectures featuring various themes, such as governance and the statutes of sports federations and government intervention, sports associations and their statutes and how to regulate the relationship between their members.
Other topics included obligations and commitment of players, clubs and sports associations, and courts involved in settling disputes with competent authorities both internally and internationally, among many other subjects. The SLC's Women Sports Department and the Organizing Committee of the 3rd Arab Women Sports Tournament (Sharjah 2016), held a successful press conference in Casablanca, where it met with a number of sports journalists as part of the promotional tours that targeted a number of Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan. The event was attended by Nada Al Naqbi, Head of the AWST’s Executive Committee and AWST’S Manager, and Moroccan athlete, NezhaBidouane, president of the Moroccan Royal University of Sport for All and President of “Women, Achievements and Values Association”, as well as members of AWST's team and media representatives.