The winning edge-yesterday’s dream, today’s reality

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Anna Karamanou MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT President of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

When, in September 1997, the decision of the International Olympic Committee was announced to host the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the enthusiasm of all of us was great. A dream of generations for Greece had come true, offering the opportunity that modern Greece had long sought: to prove that when it wants to, it CAN. Optimism grows, as the games are an opportunity that generates many other opportunities, some small and some larger. Opportunities for development, for work, for improvement, but also for the creation of new infrastructures, the development of communication networks, and the acceleration of the economic and social modernization of the country.

The Greek Olympic preparation is distinguished by the special emphasis it places on the uniqueness of our Olympiad, in an effort to create a different, unique experience for the entire planet. This experience will not be limited only to the sporting event or the Cultural Olympiad, but will embody the deeper and universal values of peace, cooperation, dialogue, and the solidarity of peoples.

The Olympic Truce

The idea of the Olympic truce is perhaps the greatest contribution of modern Greece to the Olympic Movement. In the year 2000, the International Olympic Committee, in collaboration with the Greek government, inaugurated the International Olympic Truce Center, a globally renowned Non-Governmental Organization based in Greece, presided over by Dr. Jacques Rogue, while the Vice President is the Greek Foreign Minister Mr. George Papandreou. The Center, in cooperation with the International Olympic Truce Foundation in Lausanne, promotes the revival of the Olympic Truce on the occasion of the return of the Games to their place of origin. With specific actions, the Center aims, beyond the observance of the truce during the Games, at humanitarian support for crisis areas, at creating conditions for dialogue between warring parties, and at the continuous and universal dissemination of the culture of peace.

Today, the Olympic Truce expresses humanity’s desire to build a world based on the principles of fair competition, humanity, reconciliation, and tolerance. The Olympic Truce is a bridge that connects the old and wise tradition with the needs of today’s world: the maintenance of international peace, the promotion of multicultural dialogue, cooperation, and understanding.

The period of the Olympic Games offers us the opportunity for a similar dialogue and the search for sustainable solutions for the restoration of peace in all areas of conflict, where the victims are mainly women and children, the youth, and the elderly.

Our request is for a world free from hatred, terrorism, and war, where the ideals of peace, goodwill, and mutual respect will form the foundation of relations between peoples and countries. This goal may still seem distant, but if the Olympic Truce can create even a small respite from conflicts and wars, we will send from here, from Athens, a strong message of hope to the international community.

The contribution of women to the Olympic effort

Women have an important role to play in this effort. Women as a whole, historically, are not associated with acts of war and violence. For centuries we lived in the private sphere, resulting in the development of peace-loving qualities. The incorporation of the female perspective in foreign policy and international relations could drastically change the existing situation and transform the culture of confrontation and violence into a culture of peace and understanding.

The vision of women is the vision of a balanced world, where nations and states will coexist peacefully, where any disagreements will be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means. In this world, violence and war are rejected as means of resolving differences, the resources of the planet and the goods of science and technology are distributed fairly, and priority is given to the quality of life, social solidarity, cooperation, and the creative coexistence of people. In the world of women, there is no place for exclusions.

However, women have historically faced many exclusions: when the Olympic Games were revived in 1896, the participation of women was excluded. The argument put forward by Baron Pierre de Coubertin at that time was that female participation made no sense, as women could not compete with men on equal terms. However, these objections were quickly overcome, with the argument that women could participate in sports that would be compatible with their abilities. Thus, in the very next games, in 1900, 19 female athletes from 5 countries participated in 2 sports, tennis and golf, while the tennis player Charlotte Cooper became the first female Olympic champion.

Of course, there were also discriminations against women in the following years from official sports bodies, both national and international. It is characteristic that the 800-meter event took place only once between 1928 and 1956. This was because it was deemed dangerous for women to run such a long distance and was prohibited until 1960. Today, women run in all long distances and in the marathon, competing on equal footing with many men. Special mention should also be made of the women’s participation, for the first time in Sydney, in the Modern Pentathlon, an extremely demanding sport with five events. [1]

Since 1900, women’s participation in the Olympic Games has generally been on the rise. At the Sydney Olympics, it reached 4,069 participants. Especially since 1976, the progress of women’s sports has been rapid. Particularly significant is the speed with which women began to conquer areas and sports that had excluded them until a few years ago. Recently, we have seen many traditionally male sports open up to women, providing exciting spectacles for the sports audience, such as hammer throw and triple jump (which has brought many distinctions to Greece), while the audience is captivated by the pole vault competitions between Feofanova and Dragila.

In all new sports, women tend to have active participation. Furthermore, while there are still male-only sports, such as baseball, boxing, and wrestling in Sydney, there are also, correspondingly, female-only sports, such as softball, rhythmic gymnastics, and synchronized swimming. [2]

However, despite the undeniable progress that has been made, we still witness discrimination against women who are involved in or wish to engage in sports and athletics. Women’s professional sports do not receive the same coverage from the media as men’s sports. Parents do not encourage their daughters to participate in a sport as easily as they do their sons.

This exclusion continues despite the multiple evidence of the importance of sports for human health, and for women in particular. Exercise can decisively contribute to the prevention of diseases such as osteoporosis and heart diseases. Specifically, exercising during pregnancy not only helps the woman herself, but also has multiplicative positive effects on the fetus.

One of the main causes of this reality is the absence of a satisfactory number of women from decision-making centers related to sports. Unfortunately, we do not encounter many women in the administration of sports clubs, in coaching positions, or in the organization of sports events. However, when issues concerning female athletes and women’s sports are being discussed, what guarantees does the current male-centric regime provide that the rights and particularities of women will be taken into account? Under these circumstances, it is expected that there will be shortcomings in the infrastructure and environment that will accommodate female athletes.

These roots of discrimination have nothing to do with reality, that is, with women’s ability to respond to the challenges that sports present to them or with their ability to move the audience watching them. Any discrimination and stereotypical behaviors are always based on prejudices and remnants of patriarchy. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, 26 countries sent only male athletes and no women. In these countries, it is worth noting that no European country is included, while most are located in Africa and Asia.

The geographical distribution, as well as the statements of the states themselves, reveal that the main motives for excluding women from the Olympic Games are cultural, social, and religious. Indeed, in countries where Islamic law is followed strictly and literally (such as Iran, Afghanistan, Oman, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates), women are not allowed to show their bodies, nor to participate in sports, especially in front of a male audience. Female athletes from Islamic countries who have defied the rules have received threats against their lives from radical Islamist organizations.

These discriminations against women are absolutely unacceptable and must be fought with the utmost determination. Our goal for the Athens Olympic Games should be the full and equal participation of women in all sports and with as many women as possible. Not a single delegation of a country should exist without the participation of women athletes at the 2004 Olympics! Exclusion from the Games based on gender is contrary to both the spirit and the letter of the Olympic Charter, which characterizes “any form of discrimination against a country or person based on race, religion, political beliefs, gender, or other reasons, incompatible with the Olympic movement.”[3]

[1] www.olympicwomen.co.uk.

[2] www.olympicwomen.co.uk.

[3] Regan Good: “Women´s Share at Olympic Competition Drops” στο www.womensenews.org