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Title [Martial Arts Globe] The sport of Muaythai leads the way: Crossing religious and cultural boundaries

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    27-06-2019
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Photo by @wales_gibbons on flickr; This photo is not directly linked to the below writing.


 by Susan W. Glassey

June 2018

Thailand has come a long way in the last 16 years, from having very low female participation in their national sport to being the most successful female team, attaining the greatest number of gold medal and becoming a team the Thai people can be proud of as they continue to showcase the beauty of their national sport on the international stage.


This study will attempt to argue the idea that the sport of Muaythai has, in the last 16 years, effected positive social change across physical borders. This paper will attempt to answer the following questions: 1) How and why was the inclusion of Muslim women implemented? 2) How has gender equality been driven in the sport of Muaythai? 3) How has globalisation influenced the increase in female Muaythai participants in counties that do not promote women participating in masculine sports such as Muaythai?

 


 

 

In 2002 female only 15 female athletes participated in the IFMA World Championships, these athletes were from 7 countries, New Zealand (1, Sue Glassey), Great Britain (1 Fiona Hayes), Australia (4, Tina Caverly, Julie Livet, Amy Birch, Laura Skinner), Finland (3, Mappela Lehtonen, Satu, & Mia), Italy (1, no name), Ukraine (1, Baneko) and Thailand (3, Supapron, Daoprasok, Reung Reung). The championship was held in Thailand and so Thai athletes did not have a large financial barrier to participation. Thailand had only three female athletes participate even though it is their national sport and they have strong national pride in this sport, women were not allowed to compete, in general. At this point in time, in most venues in Thailand, women were not allowed to touch or go near a ring that men competed in. This is mainly due to deep seated spiritual beliefs that women are unclean at certain times of the month and would therefore cast bad luck upon the men and the equipment used in the competition by touching it. The cultural barriers to female participation in Thailand are strong and reflect the beliefs around the female gender stereotypes within Thailand. The first IFMA World Championships to allow women to compete (on the full programme) was held in Bangkok, 2002.


 


As the popularity of Muaythai grew through the world other constraints over and above gender stereotyping prevented women from participating at international level. These countries included, Morocco, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, and individual participants of varying nationality of Muslim faith - the ability to bring women to the world stage meant that political policies, sporting policies, and/or cultural and religious barriers had to be overcome. In 2010 discussions started around a change in competition uniform and a further two years before it was implemented. The drive was to increase the ability for women across the world to compete at international level and create greater inclusiveness within the sport. It took a further two years of trial and research into safety and increased understanding of the restrictions required by Islamic countries and the effects of the beliefs of the Muslim faith before the rule was formally cemented into the official rule book at the IFMA AGM, Langkawi, 2014. The inclusion of the sport Hijab and full body covering has directly increased the participation of women in countries such as: Morocco, Turkey, Nederland, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Iran and many other countries that have citizens of the Muslim Faith.


 


Thailand has come a long way in the last 16 years, from having very low female participation in their national sport to being the most successful female team, attaining the greatest number of gold medal and becoming a team the Thai people can be proud of as they continue to showcase the beauty of their national sport on the international stage. Globalisation has placed considerable pressure on the links between Thai culture, Thailand’s national sport, and the dominantly held religious beliefs of the Buddhist faith. Sage (2002, p. 226) stated, “Sporting practices that have long existed in national cultures and communities are no longer isolated from global changes. They, too, have become an integral part of the globalised economic and cultural world, and widening global interdependency. The globalization of Muaythai is profoundly influencing traditional sports practices and values” (as cited in Lois, 2011) in Thailand.


 


Sport alone cannot effect change that is hindered by national political movements but with the support of supra-nations such as the United Nations (UN), The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its subsidiary arms (SportAccord, GAISF, TAFISU, ARISF, AIMS etc.), and multi-governmental agreements such as those brought about by the United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) e.g. Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS) and the Kazan Action Plan (KAP), sport has the ability and global governmental support to use its social capital to drive positive social change in the new globalised world. By recognising that inclusion is not only a challenge to be overcome but moreover a call to pro-active action to purposefully to pursue and embrace diversity as an enhancer to common practice. By following the KAP (Kazan Action Plan, 2017) set at the MINEPS VI (Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport) International Conference, sport can be used to effect social capital.

※ The above writing is a summarized version, and does not reflect the opinon of ICM.