BEIRUT,November 30, 2017 - The 2nd Asian Women Sports Journalists Workshop successfullyconcluded its activities in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after three days of valuable lectures, seminars and discussions that enhanced theknowledge of 28 female sports journalists from 10 countries.
Three successfulLebanese female athletes took the stage on the third day to share their experiencesand speak about the lack of media coverage for women's sport and how theymanaged to shine despite the lack of support.
Olympic Trap Shooter Ray Bassil, competed in London 2012 and Rio 2016 and is formerworld number one in the Trap category and is now aiming for a medal at Tokyo 2020.
“I faced alot of challenges and difficulties to become the athlete I am now. I suffered alot to find sponsors at the beginning. It is just when you achieve greatresults that media would show interest in you. If I had that support a long timebefore, I would have probably reached the level I reached now in five yearsinstead of ten. I train eight hours per day which gives me less time to focus on mywork, therefore to make more money to support my sport.”
NaylaAlameddine Jaroudi is a retired basketball player. She is a 13-time Women LebaneseBasketball League champion and five-time Arab Championship and West Asianchampion and is currently the manager director of Riyadi’s women basketballteam.
“We do not receivethe same support as men’s competitions and this is not fair. Men and womenshould have equal rights, especially that we are competing in almost the sameleagues and at the same level. We noticed though more coverage in the past fewyears, when it comes to local final stages and international representation. Wejust want more spotlight to be given to women, so we can have the chance torepresent Lebanon more internationally.”
For herpart, Marwa Hjeij, a former football player and current administrative at StarsAcademy for Sports (SAS) football team, shared Ray and Nayla’s thoughts onwomen's sport, highlighting the progress made over the past years in the regionin covering women’s competitions.
“We sawwhat happened in Jordan prior, during and after the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’sWorld Cup. Jordan did well in promoting this event and we saw packed stadiumsduring the host nation games. This spotlight gives us hope that womencompetitions are respected in some Asian countries and given the needed rights,which can be applied here in Lebanon, hopefully. We struggled locally to form awomen's team, convince the environment of female capabilities, compete in thefirst division level. But we did not really witness a relevant media supportduring this phase. Recently, we are surprised that news is being highlightedsomehow. This move is surely considered a step forward”.
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Dr.Inaya Ezzeddine, Minister of State for Administrative Reforms of Lebanon distributed the certificates to the journalists during the Closing Ceremony emphasizing theimportant role of women in all fields and sectors of society.
Shesaid: “We want sports to be a major part of the society and a place where individuals can express themselves. The media play a major role in promoting awareness and showthe great image of the women, not an abusive one. Discrimination is not onlyhappening in politics and economy but also in sports and UNESCO announcedrecently a strong statement condemning the abuse of women saying theirparticipation should be increased in sports and increase women quota in administrationwhich helps in decreasing discrimination.
“Thisfield has always been considered only for men, however a lot of women managedto prove themselves in that field. Reforms cannot be done without the collaborationof many parties like AIPS Asia and LSMA who contribute in enhancing the skillsand knowledge of the journalists.”
There is nodoubt that the journalists are leaving with so much knowledge and experience theygained during those three days, with a room for improvement every time.
Stephany Saad, Lebanese sports anchor and reporter from LBCI TV said: “During this workshop, I had the opportunityto communicate sports with different journalists from different backgrounds,which allowed exchange of expertise, especially with experienced people in thefield. I wish we can add more practice sessions future workshops.”
Nahed ElAhmad, Yemeni sports presenter at Saudi Sports TV said: “I am happy that Lebanon hostedthis event. I learned a lot about investigative journalism which was new to me,I also liked the story of May el Khalil and the Beirut Marathon. I am happy to havemet a lot of new colleagues who are now friends.”
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