Bend it like Bangladesh

A real-life case of Bend It Like Beckham has erupted in Bangladesh:

Bangladesh’s government has stopped women taking part in a swimming competition after pressure from an Islamic group. In July, a women’s wrestling tournament was cancelled after threats to disrupt it, and a women’s football competition was called off after protests… a radical Islamic group threatened to bring the entire district around Chandpur to a halt with protests… The Committee for Resistance to Un-Islamic Activities said women taking part in the sport would offend Bangladesh’s more than 100 million Muslims.

How could we ally with a country which bans Gabrielle Reece? Such an ally would be positively un-American. Next thing you know, they’ll ban women from driving.

5 thoughts on “Bend it like Bangladesh

  1. my father’s family is from chandpur. anyway, just another argument against islam, the majority doesn’t agree with this shit, but they tend to “put up” with it.

  2. also, dhaka has porn shop district (or a group of stalls) now. the country is fucked up. also, the hooker district is starting to get really big. (read all this stuff in the daily star or whatever)

  3. Razib, is this an idictment of Islam or religion in general that your taking? Because it wouldn’t take that many examples to show that any and all religions/countries have or had similar problems.

  4. Because it wouldn’t take that many examples to show that any and all religions/countries have or had similar problems.

    the difference is of degree, not kind. as an example, look at the vigorous elite resistance to hindutva in india, and the comparative silence in pakistan (even though pakistani elites are just as secular).