During the basketball game that pits Nuseirat against Gaza City, the gazes of the spectators turn to Amira Ismaïl, the first woman to referee men’s basketball in this territory controlled by the Islamists of Hamas.
Three years ago, the 23-year-old became the first woman to obtain a license from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in the Gaza Strip, an impoverished enclave with two million inhabitants subject to the Israeli blockade since the armed Islamists Hamas came to power in 2007.
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But because of social pressure, and after a break in sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the young woman had to wait longer than expected to referee in an official match. “This time I was determined to make use of my international license on the pitch because I deserve it,” she told AFP wearing a set of sportswear.
In total, the Gaza Strip has 15 FIBA certified referees: 14 men and Amira. That arbitration body officiates both in the matches of the four men’s clubs that dispute the championship of the region, indicates Ramzi al-Boraï, a member of the Palestinian Basketball Federation.
Since the beginning of the year, Amira, who works during the day in the hospital after having graduated in pharmacy, has refereed five matches of the men’s championship, attracting the looks of curious on each occasion. “Everybody looks at me in awe on the basketball court, and they wonder: Who is she? Is she a foreigner or an Arab? What is she doing here? ”, Says the young woman.
At the moment, the matches are taking place with a reduced capacity of spectators, due to sanitary restrictions. But Amira knows that after the pandemic the stands will be more crowded, and the questions will be more numerous.
“I hope that the simple idea of seeing girls play sports becomes something normal here, that girls are no longer afraid of the eyes of the rest of society,” he says. Ramzi Saba, a player for the Gaza club, is enthusiastic about the idea of seeing a woman referee.
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“I am happy to see a woman referee a match in Gaza. I know it’s a normal thing outside of Gaza, but I’ve never seen it before, ”he confesses, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel after his team’s match against Nuseirat.
In the stands, Ibrahim Mahmoud, 43, like the rest of the spectators during the game, took more than one look at the control table, where Amira was in charge of tracking points and fouls.
“I was surprised that there was a girl on the field of play. It is something new, but I hope that this culture will develop and that the conscience of the young players evolves towards a greater acceptance of women referees, ”he says.
Source: AFP.
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