JEDDAH: The focus was on women in sport at the eighth annual Universities Sports Tournament at Dar Al-Hekma University.
The university, a pioneering institution in the field of competitive sports for women, launched the all-female event in 2010 to encourage participation in sport and the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, serving the country’s vision 2030 project.
The tournament aims to promote healthy competition and forge relationships between the students from across the Kingdom, and to showcase the benefits of physical activity in building a physically and mentally fit generation who are able to better serve their communities
The sports included in this year’s two-day event, on February 27 and 28, were basketball, badminton, table tennis, running and soccer.
In addition to the hosts, all but one of the universities taking part are based in Jeddah: King AbdulAziz university, Effat University, University of Business and Technology, Batterjee Medical College, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, and Jeddah University. They were joined by competitors from Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) in Riyadh, the first time an institution outside of Jeddah has taken part.
“Sport is an integral part of student life,” said Dr. Sanaa Askool, Dar Al-Hekma’s dean of student affairs. It is really important to create a healthy community for students. Sport teaches you how to be a good leader and teaches you a lot about team spirit. It also it teaches you about loyalty to your team.”
Asmaa Al-Shareef, captain of the PNU basketball team, which finished in third place, said: “We would like to share our happiness of competing in this championship. We are so proud, and grateful to Dar Al-Hekma University as this tournament is our first outside of Riyadh. We are proud to represent Riyadh city.
“It is really pleasing to us to see how women’s sports are developing in Saudi Arabia according to vision 2030, bringing a lot of changes.”
Tahani Banajah, a freshman studying law at Dar Al-Hekma University, won the running race and finished third in the swimming.
“Since I started at Dar Al-Hekma I have experienced so many things,” she said.
Razan Al-Najjar, an architecture student and winner of the badminton contest, said: “My favorite sport is basketball I started to play seriously about a year and a half ago. This was my first time participating in a real competition, in badminton, surprisingly, and I won the third place. The game was really intense.”
The women’s sports sector in Saudi Arabia has been undergoing unprecedented restructuring and development recently, including the appointment of Saudi women to positions in sports, opening up to them entry to events in sports stadiums, and allowing them to take part in sports activities for the first time.
Dar Al-Hekma University is a private, non-profit institution of higher education for women in Jeddah. Classes are taught in English. The University opened in September 1999 with the approval of the Saudi Ministry of Education.
Women prove they are in a league of their own at Saudi Arabia’s Universities Sports Tournament
Women prove they are in a league of their own at Saudi Arabia’s Universities Sports Tournament
Saudi Arabia and other countries condemn recent expansionist Israeli decisions
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and several other countries on Monday condemned a series of recent Israeli decisions that introduce sweeping extensions to unlawful Israeli control over the West Bank.
In a statement, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, Brazil, France, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the Secretary Generals of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, condemned the changes that “reclassify Palestinian land as so-called Israeli ‘state land,’ accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration.”
“We are clear that Israel’s illegal settlements, and decisions designed to further them, are a flagrant violation of international law, including previous United Nations Security Council Resolutions and the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice,” the statement read.
“These latest decisions are part of a clear trajectory that aims to change the reality on the ground and to advance unacceptable de facto annexation. They also undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region, including the 20 point plan for Gaza, and threaten any meaningful prospect of regional integration,” it added.
The foreign ministers called on Israel to reverse the decisions immediately, respect its international obligations, and refrain from actions that would result in permanent changes to the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian Territory.
“These decisions follow the unprecedented acceleration of Israel’s settlement policy, with the approval of the E1 project and the publication of its tender. Such actions are a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian State and the implementation of the two-state solution,” the foreign ministers said.
They reiterated their rejection of all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
“We oppose any form of annexation,” they said.
They also called on Israel to put an end to settler violence against Palestinians, including by holding those responsible accountable. They described the escalation in the West Bank as “alarming.”
“We reaffirm our commitment to taking concrete steps, in accordance with international law, to counter the expansion of illegal settlements in Palestinian territory and policies and threats of forcible displacement and annexation,” they said.
“In the holy month of Ramadan, we also stress the importance of preserving the historic and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its Holy Sites, recognizing the special role of the historic Hashemite custodianship in this regard. We condemn repeated violations of the status quo in Jerusalem, which constitute a threat to regional stability.
“We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East on the basis of the two-state solution, in line with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant UN resolutions, based on the 4 June 1967 lines. As reflected in the New York Declaration, the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is imperative for regional peace, stability, and integration. Only by realizing an independent, sovereign and democratic Palestinian State can coexistence among the region’s peoples and states be achieved,” they said.
The ministers called for the immediate release by Israel of withheld tax revenues due to the Palestinian Authority.
Those revenues must be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, according to the Paris Protocol, and they are vital for the provision of basic services for the Palestinian population in Gaza and in the West Bank, they said.
