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Australia: Are you a Muslim woman who participates in sports and active recreation and/or a coach/manager who offers programming to Muslim women in girls in Australia?

The purpose of this project is to better understand your participation experiences in sport and/or physical activity, including any barriers you might face, the support you receive, joys and pleasures you get from
participation in particular sporting environments. To develop this knowledge, we recognize the importance of creating spaces for the voices and experiences of Muslim women themselves, as well as those involved in organizing sport/physical activities with Muslim female participants. Your knowledge is key! An experienced Muslim woman researcher (Dr Nida Ahmad) will conduct the interviews.

Muslim Women Call for participants: You will be invited to participate in this research project because we understand that, as a Muslim woman, you participate in sports, exercise or active recreation, are 18 years of age or over, with English language skills, and live in Australia. Your experiences will offer unique insights into the cultural conditions and social factors shaping the sport environment in Australia.

Coaches/Sports Manager: You will be invited to participate in this research project because we understand that as sports practitioners/managers/coaches, you offer sporting and/or physical activity opportunities for local Muslim girls and/or women. Your experiences will offer unique insights into the cultural conditions and social factors shaping the sports environment in Australia.

Participation in this study will involve taking part in an interview that should last about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The interview can be arranged for a time that suits you and can be conducted via Skype, Zoom, over the phone or in person, depending on your preference. The research team will contact you via email to arrange the interview. The interview topics will be emailed to you prior to the interview so that you can familiarise yourself with the topics for discussion. This interview will be audio-recorded and transcribed, and the content coded for analysis.

If you’d like to be involved, please email me (n.ahmad@deakin.edu.au) or text me at +61430007214 or Dr Kim Toffoletti (kim.toffoletti@deakin.edu.au) and I can send you some more information. Please share my details with anyone you know who may be interested, and I can send them the information, too.

This study has received Deakin University ethics approval (ref# HAE-23-093).

Building Cultural Inclusion in Sport & Recreation: Sporting the Participation of Muslim Women and Girls

I am so excited to share this, a long time in the making! I started this project with Professor Holly Thorpe as I was finishing up my PhD last year. This project is of so much importance, a little Aroha for the Muslim whānau in Aotearoa. Both Holly and I are delighted to collaborate with Sport New Zealand and Sport Waikato to host this event. We are excited to all those who have registered for the event on July 20th in Kirikiriroa for the hui which will hopefully start the conversation to bring important practice and policy changes.

To date, no research has explored Muslim girls and women’s sporting and physical activity participation in Aotearoa. Recognizing this huge gap, we are conducting the first project in New Zealand that seeks to understand how Muslim girls and women access sport and physical recreation in New Zealand, and the challenges in doing so. To develop this knowledge, we recognize the importance of creating spaces for the voices and experiences of Muslim women themselves, as well as those involved in organizing sport/physical activities with Muslim female participants. Your knowledge is key! Please consider participating in this project if you meet the following criteria:

You can participate in this project if you are:

  • 18 years or older
  • Living in either Auckland, Wellington or Waikato
  • Involved in organizing or running (e.g., coaches, administrators) sport or physical activity opportunities for/with any Muslim girls and/or women (e.g., do you have a Muslim girl on your sports team?)

If you do want to participate, what would be involved?

  • Participate in a focus group (group interview) discussion with other sports leaders/administrators from your region
  • Talk about your involvement in offering sporting and/or physical activity opportunities for local Muslim girls and/or women: what have you learned in the process? What do you feel we can be doing better in catering to the needs and interests of this group?
  • The focus group will be approx. 1 hour long at a time/location that suits participants
  • You don’t have to answer any question that you don’t want to, and can stop or leave the interview at any time.
  • You would remain anonymous in any research resulting from this project and we do not

anticipate any risks for you participating in this study.

Why should you be involved?

  • This is an important opportunity to share your experiences of being involved in providing sport and/or physical activity opportunities for Muslim girls and/or women. Findings will be shared with sports organizations across the country, and will therefore enhance understandings, inform policy, and hopefully lead to more supportive, inclusive sporting and active recreation opportunities for Muslim girls and women.

Who is doing this research? Who will do the interviews/focus groups?

  • Professor Holly Thorpe and Nida Ahmad from the University of Waikato are conducting this project. Nida is a Muslim woman whose own PhD research focuses on Muslim women’s participation in sport and use of social media. Nida and/or Holly will conduct all interviews/focus groups.

If you’re interested in participating, or getting further information, please contact:

Nida Ahmad: na105@students.waikato.ac.nz or 0284051042 OR

Professor Holly Thorpe: holly.thorpe@waikato.ac.nz or 021311143

We do hope you will consider sharing your experiences, knowledge and insights in this New Zealand-first research.

This research is funded by internal funding from the University of Waikato. This research project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (Health) at the University of Waikato as HREC(Health)2019-20. Any questions or concerns about the ethical conduct of this research may be sent to the Secretary of the Committee, email humanethics@waikato.ac.nz, postal address, Human Research Ethics Committee (Health), University of Waikato, Te Whare Wananga o Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240.

Muslim Women’s Experiences of Sport in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Seeking Participants for a Study on Muslim Women’s Experiences of Sport in Aotearoa/New Zealand

To date, no research has explored Muslim girls and women’s sporting and physical activity participation in Aotearoa. Recognizing this huge gap, we are conducting the first project in New Zealand that seeks to understand how Muslim girls and women access sport and physical recreation in New Zealand, and the challenges in doing so. To develop this knowledge, we recognize the importance of creating spaces for the voices and experiences of Muslim women themselves. Your knowledge is key! Please consider participating in this project if you meet the following criteria:

You can participate in this project if you self-identify as a Muslim woman and are:

  • 18 years or older
  • Living in either Auckland, Wellington or Waikato
  • Regularly or occasionally participates in sport, exercise or active recreation

If you do want to participate, what would be involved?

  • Participate in a focus group (group interview) discussion with other Muslim women from your region
  • Talk about your experiences participating in sport, exercise or active recreation (e.g., what you love, some of the challenges, your ideas as to how we can make sport more inclusive and supportive for Muslim girls and women)
  • The focus group will be approx. 1 hour long at a time/location that suits participants: You can choose from local campus, sports organization or Mosque
  • You don’t have to answer any question that you don’t want to, and can stop or leave the interview at any time.
  • You would remain anonymous in any research resulting from this project and we do not anticipate any risks for you participating in this study.

Why should you be involved?

  • This is an important opportunity to share your experiences of participating in sport, exercise and/or recreation in New Zealand. Findings will be shared with sports organizations across the country, and will, therefore, enhance understandings, inform policy, and hopefully lead to more supportive, inclusive sporting and active recreation opportunities for Muslim girls and women.

Who is doing this research? Who will do the interviews/focus groups?

  • Nida Ahmad and Professor Holly Thorpe from the University of Waikato are conducting this project. Nida is a Muslim woman whose own PhD research focuses on Muslim women’s participation in sport and use of social media. Nida will conduct all focus groups and will ensure they are run in a culturally appropriate manner.

If you’re interested in participating, or getting further information, please contact:

Nida Ahmad: na105@students.waikato.ac.nz or 0284051042

Professor Holly Thorpe: holly.thorpe@waikato.ac.nz or 021311143

We do hope you will consider sharing your experiences, knowledge and insights in this New Zealand-first research.

This research is funded by internal funding from the University of Waikato. This research project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (Health) at the University of Waikato as HREC(Health)2019-20. Any questions or concerns about the ethical conduct of this research may be sent to the Secretary of the Committee, email humanethics@waikato.ac.nz, postal address, Human Research Ethics Committee (Health), University of Waikato, Te Whare Wananga o Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240.

Road to PhD

In less than 48 hours I will be on an aeroplane crossing the “International Date Line” (maybe crossing this line will break the bad cycle of my dating life) and making my way to the corner of the world to a country considered the most beautiful place on earth — New Zealand.  It is also considered one of the most diverse countries in the world beating out NYC, London and L.A.  I look forward to seeing and experiencing this since diversity is a huge part of  who I am. As my departure date gets closer and closer I am experiencing a range of emotions – I am torn between the excitement of starting this new amazing adventure and the heart-break of leaving behind my friends and family. However, as a Third Culture Kid (TCK) this is something I am very much familiar with.

I am looking forward to diving deep into my research on action sports (skateboarding, parkour, mountaineering, surfing, etc.) and Muslim women’s participation in that realm and joining a superstar team of scholars. I myself will also be indulging in some of these sports in particular surfing. I also hope to enhance my trail running skills… I have heard Kiwi’s are experts in that area.

So for now I have managed to pack most of my belongings into 2 bags for my 3 year PhD life in NZ. My side kicks Chewy and Daryl Dixon Funko Pops will accompany me on this journey.

See you on the other side!

 

Update!

When I first started this project it was part of my master’s thesis project and it was housed here (Wa-Amae).  You are wondering what does “Wa-Amae” stands for: Wa-Amae is derived from Japanese ideology of peace and deep social interdependence: Wa (wah) translates to harmony; and Amae (ah-ma-ee) translates to, ‘look to others for affection’ and focuses on sustaining respect and humility through maintaining a strong collective relationship to helping one another. This new website will still focus on sports and women but I am tweaking my focus more towards women (minority women such as Muslim women) and action sports. This topic is something that I care about and I am well versed in due to my academic, professional and personal experiences. The concept of social inclusion drives me to share stories through this platform especially since there is limited coverage on women and sports in general and more so about Muslim women and sports.

I am excited to discuss this topic!

My Golden Days in Field Hockey

First blog entry arrives all the way from Pakistan by Ms. Javaid who is the first female Field Hockey coach in Pakistan. Here is her story below:

I started playing hockey when it was introduced first introduced in 1976. My love for hockey was due to my mother, as she was also an ex-National Field Hockey player in India before the partition. She was also one of the pioneers of women’ s hockey in Pakistan. I played for the provincial team in various National Women’s Hockey Championships and under my captaincy my provincial team won their first Gold Medal in 1981. In 1981 I was selected in the Pakistan team for the Asia Cup. I have the honor of being the first female field hockey coach in Pakistan (1983).

To promote hockey at the grassroots level along with the field hockey association I have organized many training camps and tournaments at the provincial and national level. In 2009, I was selected as a member of the Development and Coaching Committee of Pakistan Hockey Federation. As a judge I represented Pakistan in 2003 in the 2nd Asia Cup in Singapore and 1st Asian Games Hockey Qualifier in 2006 in Malaysia which was organized by the Asian Hockey Federation.

I became a member of the U.S Field Hockey Association in 2012 and supported field hockey clubs in the U.S by donating hockey kits for clubs. In Pakistan I volunteer to promote sports and field hockey in various schools in Karachi for underprivileged youth. I have organized summer camps and sports festivals in these schools and conducted fitness level programs to create awareness about the importance of sports. Presently, I am the Vice- President of the Karachi Divisional Women’s Hockey Association and will continue my mission to promote sports especially since field hockey is my passion and want to contribute to creating opportunities  for the children.

Learn more about Shaista here.

Donna Carpenter

Donna Carpenter, is an amazing individual who I have followed for sometime. She is the Co-Owner of Burton Snowboards with her husband. Her focus is on action sports, aka non-traditional sports (snowboarding, surfing, biking), which I believe have just as great of an impact as traditional sports (basketball, soccer, etc.).

Arab women in sports

A picturous piece by Vanity Fair about the Arab Women who competed in the London Olympics 2012.  The article showcases the diversity of Muslim women in their respective sports.

Check out Brigitte Lacombe’s work here: Portraits of Arab Lady Athletes.

 

A documentary about a girl trying to change her life in a society where opportunities are not awarded based on who you are, but your social class and background. At one point in the preview she makes a powerful statement “sport isn’t easy.” It is true that people make sacrifices for their dreams but how much are you willing to sacrifice.

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© Nida Ahmad 2015
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