Alyaum

Every now and then, the issue of schoolgirls taking physical education classes arises, with many people calling for the subject’s inclusion in all schools. We have two groups: the supporters and the detractors. The detractors consider the supporters as secularists who want to spread corruption in our schools. The supporters consider those who oppose to be extremists. Frankly speaking, I have not seen any of these groups tackling the issue objectively.

Supporters of PE classes tend to severely attack those who oppose, describing them as people with militant thoughts and ideologies. All those who oppose such classes claim that the supporters want to corrupt society. There is nothing objective in these opinions.

I believe that the opinions of both groups are unimportant now and do not carry any valid meaning for the simple reason that PE classes for girls’ schools have been officially approved. We should now focus more on building the infrastructure that allows girls to participate in sports when at school. Our educational facilities do not have the right infrastructure, such as gyms and halls. A top official at the Ministry of Education said the other day that the nation’s girls’ schools can barely accommodate the number of students and teachers and that most school buildings have no rooms suitable for sports. I believe the official was right.

We have 30,000 girls’ schools across the Kingdom, the majority of which are not equipped with any sports equipment, let alone enough space to hold PE classes. Apart from money, it will take a lot of time to build gyms and sports halls in these schools. It is, therefore, important to expedite and facilitate the building of gyms for women that provide membership at reasonable prices. Currently, women’s sports centers are expensive and not everyone can afford to join.

We want our women to have equal opportunities, regardless of their living standards and monthly incomes.