Israeli female soccer players fight back against sexism, prejudice
"Who will give people back the hour-and-a-half they wasted watching women's soccer?" reads one comment.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFTeammates of the Israeli-Arab women soccer team, Sakhnin, perform warm-up drills before the game against Hapoel Betshan, in Sakhnin, Israel, April 27, 2006.(photo credit: MELANIE FIDLER/FLASH90)
Three female media studies students from the IDC wanted to showcase the double standard and sexism exhibited toward women in Israeli soccer. So they got male players to read insults that women have received over the years, the Israel women's Network announced on Friday."Women's soccer isn't a real sport," reads Beitar Jerusalem's Ofir Kriaf in a video of 16 male players reading out the comments. "Here's another reason why their place is in the kitchen," says Hapoel Kfar Saba's Aviv Solomon."Who will give people back the hour-and-a-half they wasted watching women's soccer?" asks Hapoel Tel Aviv's Lidor Cohen.Leading the campaign is Karin Sendel, a midfielder and co-captain for Israel women's national football team.The campaign was launched on social media with the tag "Kicking the Prejudice off the Field," and includes a special Instagram filter that does the same.Sendel pointed out that the online comments have a direct effect on policy in how the average annual budget for a men's team in the Israeli Premier League is about NIS 31 million.In contrast, the women's team receives, on average, NIS 700,000 per year."It's been proven that sports encourages self-confidence and leadership qualities in young girls," Sendel argues, "so when they are treated with prejudice and double standards on the field, the leaders of tomorrow are getting cut."
