Sport as a vehicle for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls

". . . [M]y trainers taught me to believe in myself . . . I was inspired and learned determination and dis­cipline. Sports allow you to get to know yourself."

—Nawal El Moutawakel,

the first Olympic gold medallist

from Morocco (1984 Olympics

—hurdles)³⁹

The relationship between gender equality and sport is not solely about achieving equality in women's partici­pation and treatment within sports, but it is also about promoting "sport for gender equality", or harnessing the potential of sport for social empower­ment of women and girls. Sport offers a valuable channel to strengthen wom­en's and girls' capabilities and provide information on important social issues, such as health, HIV/AIDS and women's rights. Women's and girls' participation in sport can also challenge gender ster­eotypes and break down entrenched discriminatory attitudes and behav­iours. Myriam Lamare, a World Boxing

Association champion from France, has said that the punches she lands shake the foundations of society.⁴⁰

Empowering women and girls through sport

Sport can be an important tool for social empowerment through the skills and values learned, such as teamwork, negotiation, leadership, communica­tion and respect for others. The social benefits of participation in sport are thought to be especially important for girls, given that many girls, particularly in adolescence, have fewer oppor­tunities than boys for social interac­tion outside the home and beyond family structures.⁴¹ Women and girls acquire new interpersonal networks, develop a sense of identity and access new opportunities, allowing them to become more engaged in school and community life.⁴² Participation in sport also enables women and girls to enjoy freedom of expression and movement and increase their self-esteem and self-confidence.

It has also been argued that sport and physical education can serve as the basis for a sense of "positive embodi­ment". This concept goes beyond the idea of physical fitness and incorpo­rates psychological benefits and the

pursuit of active spiritual practices. The psychological benefits of physical activity, essential fora sense of positive embodiment, can be acquired through the enjoyment of the physical activity, self-chosen levels of competition, and the provision of social support from the family and the community.⁴³

The concept of positive embodiment implies that women and girls have the right and responsibility to create active, healthy lifestyles to sustain vitality in their lives. There are psychological, emotional and medical benefits to doing so, as well as significant broader

economic and social gains. The con­cept starts with traditional fitness and adds psychosocial wellness strategies and the pursuit of active self-care for body, mind and spirit. Positive embodi­ment requires a lifestyle incorporating self-assertion and self-care which is the basis of a vigorous and satisfying sense of one's own body.⁴⁴

Positive embodiment can be seen as a model of self-care that allows women to achieve a balance between caring for themselves and caring for others. Most women prioritize the needs of others before their own needs, a pattern that often leads to neglect of themselves. As a result, women deplete their resources of time and energy in the care of others. Self-care involves the creation of personal time and space for women and opportunities for posi­tive interaction of the mind, body and spirit. Adoption of the physical embodi­ment approach, with its critical con­cept of active self-care, would require complex changes in lifestyle for many women.⁴⁵

Sport can serve as a vehicle to improve women's and girls' leadership roles and participation in decision-making. The acquisition of valuable skills in management, negotiation and decision-making empowers women and girls to become leaders in all areas of community life, as well as in the household.