Muscat,ONA) - Sayyida Sanaa bin Hamad Al-Busaidia, head of the Oman Women's Sport Committee, affirmed that the allocation of a day for Omani women, which falls on October 17 of each year, is evidence of the importance of Omani women and their position in Omani society and their role in various sectors. It also confirms the noble approach of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and His Majesty's interest in women, out of his belief in her role and position in Omani society, whose foundations were laid by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
She said in an interview with the Oman News Agency on the occasion of the Sultanate’s celebration of Omani women today, “Omani women have the right to be proud of this day, which is a tribute to them and an incentive to exert more efforts to achieve ambitions and hopes and their prominent role in advancing development in various fields and their scientific, social and literary contributions and to seek to represent the Sultanate in international forums with the achievements made at all levels.” She also stressed the importance of the Omani woman’s pride in her civilizational and cultural heritage, her adherence to her national identity and her non-abandonment of her authentic customs and traditions in various aspects of life.
She explained that the success of women's sports in the Sultanate is due to the attention, care and support it received from all, especially the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and the Omani Olympic Committee. The existence of a women's sports base that the Women's Sports Committee benefited from when it was established in 2005, the most important of which is the presence of qualified female cadres in the sports, technical and administrative fields, in addition to the presence of various sports facilities in all the governorates of the Sultanate and the presence of sports associations, clubs, civil institutions, programs and sporting events supervised by the Women's Sports Department at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, have contributed to the spread and practice of various sports and the organization of local competitions for them. This worked to empower women and their participation in local, Gulf and international championships, thus making many achievements and winning various medals upon their participation, which resulted in the motivation of Omani women and giving them great confidence and strong determination to represent the Sultanate in regional and international sporting forums.
On the efforts of the Oman Women's Sport Committee to achieve its goals, Sayyida Sanaa bint Hamad Al-Busaidia indicated that “these efforts are proceeding according to the terms of reference specified for them within the ministerial decision, so it began to work on developing a strategic plan aimed at raising the level of women's participation in developing women's sports through participation in external and internal conferences. It also works to consolidate the relationship between women and sports clubs, taking into account the diversity and plurality of sports programs for Omani girls, with the aim of expanding the base of female participation and making it visible in the media. The committee also took interest in community sports, as it supervised the formation of women's teams for group games (handball, basketball, and volleyball), taking advantage of the sports base in schools and sports associations and the programs established by the Women's Sports Department at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, with the aim of giving women the opportunity to prove themselves and practice their hobbies in the various facilities in the complexes.
At the end of her talk to the Oman News Agency, she added, “The joining of the Women’s Sports Committee to the Organizing Committee for Women’s Sport in the Gulf Cooperation Council states in 2007 has had a significant impact on the emergence of Omani women at the Gulf level by participating in various Gulf championships and tournaments in group and individual games, as well as their prominent presence in the Olympic Games. The committee also worked to train the technical, administrative and refereeing cadres, which strengthened their capabilities and skills in administrative and technical work, all of which contributed to highlighting Omani women athletes.”
(ONA)