[ad_1]
The Norwegian women’s beach handball team were fined on Monday after wearing shorts at the European Championships in protest against rules requiring female players to wear bikini bottoms.
The European Handball Federation imposed fines of 150 euros per player, totaling 1,500 euros, claiming that their shorts were “inappropriate clothing”, under rules set by the International Handball Federation.
Federation rules state that while men are required to wear shorts, women may only wear bikini bottoms “with a fitted cut and cut at an angle up to the top of the leg.” The bottoms must have a side width of no more than 10 centimeters, or approximately 3.9 inches, depending on the regulations.
Ahead of the team’s first match in the championship, Norway asked the EHF for permission to play in shorts, but were told the team could be fined or disqualified if they did, a Norwegian Handball Federation president Kåre Geir Lio told NBC News. Then, on Sunday, in the bronze medal match against Spain, the players decided to continue as a team anyway.
“We thought, ‘Now we’ll do it, and then we’ll see what happens,'” player Katinka Haltvik told Norwegian TV station NRK.
Lio told the New York Times that the national organization would pay fines imposed by European regulators as he expressed his support for the players.
“Women should have the right to have a uniform that they deem suitable for the practice of their sport,” said Lio. He also told The Times that Norway had complained about the bikini bottom requirement since 2006 and that “nothing happened”.
In a statement on Twitter and Instagram, the Norwegian federation said it was “very proud” of women for raising their voices and said “THAT IS ENOUGH ENOUGH”.
“We… we stand behind you and support you,” the post said. “Together, we will continue to fight to change the international clothing regulations, so that players can play in the clothes they are comfortable with!”
The International Handball Federation did not immediately respond to questions from BuzzFeed News, but organization spokeswoman Jessica Rockstroh told The Times she did not know the reason for the rules requiring women to wear stockings. bikini.
In a statement on Tuesday, the European Handball Federation said it was fixing the issue, adding that “the reaction is based on misinformation about the procedure.”
“The position of the players involved is recognized and other steps, in close coordination with the IHF, are underway,” the statement said.
The fines imposed on female handball players’ clothing are the latest example of a sexist double standard in sport and the regulation of what female athletes, in particular, can wear when competing. Earlier this week Olivia Breen, Paralympic sprinter and long jumper for the United Kingdom, said an England championships official told her her underpants were “too short and inappropriate”.
“I was left speechless,” Breen wrote in a Twitter post. “It made me wonder if a male competitor would be criticized in the same way.”
Shireen Ahmed, a writer specializing in Muslim women’s sports, compared the regulation on beach handball clothing to the ban on the hijab; FIFA, in particular, for years banned female footballers from wearing the hijab.
“It’s about controlling women’s bodies and not about benefit, danger or anything,” Ahmed said. tweeted.
[ad_2]
Source link