Controversy erupted during the judo competition at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta on Monday evening after visually-impaired Indonesian athlete Miftahul Jannah was disqualified shortly before her match for refusing to remove her hijab.
The 21-year-old, who hails from the conservative province of Aceh where women are required to wear hijab, was told by the referee that judoka (judo competitors) were not allowed to wear head coverings of any kind, except for medical bandaging, during their matches for safety reasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq_9C5veFB0
Indonesian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) president Senny Marbun apologized for the incident saying it was due to NPC’s negligence but also casting blame on the judo team’s coach.
“On behalf of the NPC, I apologize for this very embarrassing incident which was unexpected for Indonesia. I admit that the NPC is guilty, because after all the NPC must know everything. Actually the regulations were there, but it was the coach who didn’t want to ask about it,” Senny said at a press conference at Gelora Bung Karno Arena on Monday as quoted by Detik.
According to Senny, the regulation is actually spelled out in the referee rulebook for the International Judo Federation (IJF) but it is written in English, which the team’s judo coach cannot read.
However, the South China Morning Post quoted coach Latif as saying the rule had only been put in place the on Sunday after a technical meeting.”
There does seem to be some questions over the International Judo Federation (IJF) prohibition on the use of hijabs by competitors. In 2012, a 16-year-old Saudi Arabian judoka nearly caused a diplomatic incident during the London Olympics after officials said she was not allowed to compete while wearing a hijab.
It took three days of negotiations but eventually IJF allowed her to compete using a modified hijab. There have been other notable instances of female judoka wearing hijab at international judo competitions.
Indonesian officials said the Asian Para Games coordinators had chosen to go with a longstanding rule in IJF’s referee regulations, specifically article 4, point 4, which states “Long hair may be tied for the convenience of participants and other participants (opponents). The headband must be rubber or similar and not metal or rigid. The head must not be covered except for medical reasons.”
One of Miftahul’s companions from Aceh, Alamsyah, echoed coach Latif’s protest, telling Kumparan that the rule had only been decided upon during a technical meeting the day before the competition. But she also said no Indonesian officials had informed Miftahul at all before the match.
Alamsyah said the visually-impaired judoka accepted the referee’s decision but was very disappointed after training for 10 months for the competition and would likely not be competing in the sport again.
Despite the disappointment, many Indonesian netizens rallied to support Miftahul and her decision not to remove her hijab.
https://twitter.com/nadzrimohd/status/1049458298318073857
Proud of you #miftahuljannah #hug https://t.co/bN4yaLvO8k
— mrs abh (@iykaliscious) October 8, 2018
Her disqualification also gained the attention of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s senior Islamic clerical body, urged officials to change the rule because it was discriminatory and “not in accordance with the spirit of respect for human rights,” according to MUI deputy chairperson Zainut Tauhid Saadi.
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