A League of Their Own: Iraqi Women Join Softball Leagues

Previously outlawed by Saddam Hussein as a slow-pitch salient of "US Imperialism," Iraqi women have joined six teams to compete at softball. And they're risking more that scraped knees:

The women must run a daily gauntlet of car bombings and shootings to turn up for training.

"Because of the heat, we must train early in the morning or late in the evening. For the girls, those are dangerous times. They can be kidnapped or killed," said their trainer Ismail Khalil, who also heads the national baseball federation.

To reassure the families, the federation has provided buses to ferry the players to and from their practice sessions.

But Zikra Jasim, 20, considered the best player and who wears a veil while playing, said: "Our parents are worried even if things have improved because of the buses.

Teammate Tariq added: "I'm afraid the girls will lose heart if something happens to one of them."

That article is from Aljazeera.net, by the way.

Thanks to GregS.

posted by Ace at 04:55 PM

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