THERE are many afflictions that cause people to feel itchy – or “gatal” if you like.
Mosquito bites, for instance. Or contact with caterpillar hairs, urticeria attacks, allergy reactions and scratching pranks (using itchy powder).
Of course, people can also feel itchy for other reasons. Some get “gatalised” just watching sports, particularly where the fairer sex are involved such as in diving and synchronised swimming.
But these two sports seem not to “gatalise” sanctimonious prying eyes among some Malaysians as much as gymnastics – or the attire of the gymnast, to be more precise.
The recent brouhaha over the outfit of national gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi at the recent SEA Games in Singapore speaks for itself. Some people with a skewed penchant for mixing religion with sports, clambered onto their moral high horse to find fault with the leotard – widely considered normal attire for international gymnastic competitions – Farah wore during her routines, accusing the 21-year-old double gold medallist of “breaking the Islamic dress code.”
The National Muslim Youth Association (NMYA) reportedly said: “Women should not be stopped from sports but they must prioritise the Islamic codes in sports attire.
“Furthermore, there are many Muslim female athletes who succeed even by covering their aurat,” said Roszida Kamaruddin, head of the NMYA female wing.
What she said is especially true of sports such as bowling and shooting. Many Muslim female athletes have won international accolades in these two events. And yes, they were not wearing leotards while achieving their sporting fame.
But then, it does not take rocket science to know that bowling and shooting involve different movements – no flipping, jumping, tumbling and somersaulting. So you would not, by any stretch, expect a bowler or a shooter to perform in the attire of, say, a gymnast or a diver, and vice versa, would you?
It is not commonsensical.
In fact, the shooter or bowler’s movements will not be impeded to any great extent even if they compete in sarongs!
The same cannot be said, in particular, of sports that involve acrobatic movements such as gymnastics, synchronised swimming and diving. Logically, how can you expect to perform efficiently in these sports if restricted by your outfit or all covered up?
Gymnastics is a sport that requires movements on various pieces of equipment such as the pummel horse, parallel bars, rings and high bar.
Experts will tell you “to do these movements with maximum ease and safety in mind, the participants must wear the proper attires that will allow for full range of motion, decrease the risk of injury and help coaches and judges evaluate the quality of your movements.”
International rules require female gymnasts to wear leotards in competition. They must make sure these outfits do not have “any hanging adornments, such as frills, straps and strings because these can get caught and increase the risk of falling.” Farah did not break any of these rules when she captured a total of six medals at the Games. She won fair and square. But what the armchair critics fail to see – or are not interested in seeing except for one specific body part – are the sacrifices Farah has made to do sports-loving Malaysians proud on the international stage.
Instead of giving credit where it is due, the critics have conveniently ignored the hours upon hours she spent practising to excel in a sport no less demanding than gymnastics, and bring glory to the country. She certainly does not deserve the acerbic snipes from those so eager to cast the first stone from a glass house.
While some have hung Farah’s glittering achievements out to dry purely on a leotard string, thousands more have expressed support for her, including the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
In a congratulatory letter to Farah, the Sultan said she had made the whole of Malaysia, including Selangor, feel proud with her achievements at the Games.
“Criticising your attire should be the last matter in the minds of those who commented negatively on social media. They should be celebrating your achievements for Malaysia and Selangor,” he said in the letter.
Sultan Sharafuddin hoped Farah would not be distracted by the comments of “narrow-minded people but continue to strive to be the best in her field.”
Khairy called the detractors “gatal (itchy) men,” suggesting there should also be guidelines for them to “lower their gaze if cannot contain themselves watching sports.”
“The critics can look elsewhere or if they cannot contain themselves, we will have to ban them from entering stadiums,” he tweeted.
Other supporters rallied: “Nobody force them to watch the game or see the pictures. Agree they should lower their gaze instead of degrading others.”
On Farah’s gold-medal winning feat, Khairy tweeted: “In gymnastics, she wowed the judges and brought home gold.
In her deeds, only the Almighty judges her. Not you (detractors). Leave our athletes alone.”
The Minister also told the athletes they need not abide by any dress code drawn up by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) – in response to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic Affairs, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom’s statement that Jakim would “review clothing guidelines for athletes to be more syariah-compliant.”
“Jakim’s guidelines are just a guideline and there’s no compulsion to it. And it’s up to the athletes to follow the guidelines and there’s no compulsion to cover up. I hope this settles it,” Khairy said.
One pertinent point to remember is that sports attires in international competitions are regulated by the international sports federations and compliance is mandatory.
Another pertinent point to remember as well is that the athletes only wear the attire during competitions – NOT everyday, as rightly pointed out by the Youth and Sports Minister.
Khairy also called the critics “hypocrites,” saying their singling out of Farah’s attire for moral judgement “smacks of sexism.”
“Male athletes don’t get this kind of attention, bodybuilders wear much more revealing trunks,” he noted.
Former Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz was even more direct in keel-hauling the critics.
“The feeble iman of the male population has become the bone of contention to the whole gymnast Farah Ann controversy. Women never complained about the attires worn by men, even if it is not a sight for sore eye. You think the men look good in their swimming trunks? Do we even complain about your skimpy swimming trunks?”
She also said most men forgot Farah was striving to make the country proud and instead of appreciating that, they decided “to gawk at her attire – the wrong parts of the attire, and it is the weakness of the male iman (faith) that is causing the problem.”
Kudos to the straight-talking former minister for putting the nitpickers in their place but I think her criticisms should not be directed only at the men but also reserved for the women from “holier than thou” associations like the NMYA and others of similar ilk.
The reason these detractors are looking askance at the successes of athetes such as Farah is obviously that they are jealous.
Otherwise why do they continue to sound like sour grapes?
If our athletes continue to be criticised over trivia such as observing internationally sanctioned dress code during competitions instead of being recognised for their contributions, do not blame them for thinking of moving to countries which credit them for their sporting prowess – not judge them morally for using attires, mandated by the international sports federations.
Nowadays, sports talents are sought after by nations keen to enhance their image as sports powerhouses. It is not inconceivable for our star athletes to be lured away by nations which recognise their achievements rather than jumping at the flimsiest excuse to pour cold water on their successes.
In this context, I am sure our neighbour south of the border will be more than happy to welcome them with open arms.