Al Khiyam municipality bars women from Haramoon marathon

The recently appointed mayor of the southern town of Khiyam, Ali Abdallah, has banned, based on religious beliefs, all women and girls in the town of partaking in the projected Haramoon Marathon, An Nahar daily reported last Saturday. The event, to recall, is organized in “Suk el Khan” in Hasbayya under the sponsorship and presence of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdel Mottaleb Henaoui. Ironically, the newspaper analyzed, Abdallah’s instructions ruled out the registration of females, only males were allowed, despite the reservation of a number of the 21-member municipal board. Remarkable in the decision, An Nahar noted, is that the mayor, while banning females from running the mixed marathon, has approved the participation of young men in the same event. No objection to Abdallah’s decision has been detected, the newspaper stated, mentioning that “the municipality’s administrative affairs are being regulated through a political and sectarian authority”, in allusion to Hezbollah Party, and this in coordination with Amal Movement. Similar other restrictive decisions were taken in the past which act to undermine diversity. (An Nahar, July 25, 2016)