文化/スポーツ/女性の多様性からみた「開発」と「ジェンダー」への問いかけ

The purpose of this study is to examine two questions, first, whether the concept of 'modem sport' can be accepted by diverse women in diverse cultures and societies, and second, whether 'modem sport' can adopt itself to diversity of women and culture. The study considers these questions relevant to 'development' in broad sense. To fulfill the purpose, the relationship between Islamic women and 'modem sport' (especially competitive sport in international games) is examined because Islamic culture and culture of 'modem sport' are different. That is to say, 'modern sport' has several essential attributes, one of them is to release the participants' body and soul, and another is that athletes be clothed as lightly as possible to allow them to demonstrate their great ability and performance. On the other hand, Islamic women particularly those who practice strict forms of Islam, their bodies completely. The volume of cloth they must use to cover their body depends on the policy of their countries or region or their personal Islamic philosophy. Therefore it is important to consider how the 'modem sport', which was produced as a part of European culture, can be reconciled with Islamic women's view of body and soul which grew out of Islamic society. The conclusion of the study is as follows: 1) Islamic women could participate in 'modem sport' without their veil, if they or their countries accept their being unveiled. 2) Islamic women could participate in 'modern sport' wearing their veil, because Islamic women generally feel comfortable wearing the veil. 3) In case 2), international committees for each event should try to find a new way that Islamic women can demonstrate their own best performance since being veiled might hinder their performance depending on the event: for example, artistic sport, swimming, martial arts and so on. The above matters should be discussed and examined by each international committee. In addition, it is important that the members of each international committee are chosen with regard for gender and national/regional balance.