Muslim Mirza caught up in cultural protest

Sania Mirza in seen in this October 2005 file photo.

By N.Ananthanarayanan NEW DELHI - After zooming from anonymity into the hearts of her nation in just 10 months, India's teenage tennis sensation Sania Mirza was caught up in a cultural protest for breaking the mould by being a Muslim athlete. The 18-year-old Mirza has surmounted religious barriers to surge from 206th in the women's world rankings last December to 34th this week. Her rise has not gone unnoticed by radical Islamic clerics in largely Hindu but officially secular India, home to some 130 million Muslims. Mirza was given extra security last month after an Islamic cleric denounced her for wearing short skirts and sleeveless shirts on court and threatened to stop her playing in a WTA event in Kolkata.

Other Muslim groups denounced the edict, with a Madrassas board in an eastern Indian state even saying it planned to insert a chapter on Mirza into its school books. Mirza's status as a youth icon in a country starved of sporting success quickly helped her to ride out the controversy. Women in more conservative Muslim nations usually face a daunting challenge in their quest for sporting glory. They have to wear modest clothes to avoid offending religious and social mores and compete in front of crowds made up only of women and accompanied men. TRACKSUIT TROUSERS

Afghanistan's Lima Azimi made history two years ago in Paris by becoming the first woman from her ravaged country to take part in the world athletics championships. Running in a grey T-shirt and black tracksuit trousers, rather than the body suit worn by her rivals, she clocked a modest 18.37 seconds and was eliminated in her 100 metres heats. "It was not important for me to run fast but it was very important to participate," she said. Azimi's humble feat came 19 years after Moroccan Nawal El Moutawakel became the first woman from a Muslim nation to win Olympic gold with victory in the 400 metres hurdles in Los Angeles. Mirza, born to educated, wealthy parents, has been hailed for her self-confidence and maturity beyond her age in a nation which won only one medal in each of the last three Olympics.

In January, she became the first Indian woman to reach round three of a grand slam at the Australian Open. She notched up more firsts by claiming India's maiden WTA title before breaking into the top 100 in the rankings. Her run to the U.S. Open fourth round in September lifted her to a career-high 31st in the world. Mirza herself has remained untouched by the attention she has attracted, appearing in a T-shirt bearing the slogan: "I'm old enough to know better, but still too young to care." Indian broadcaster Rajdeep Sardesai criticised the complaint about Mirza's playing attire. "The obvious response of right-thinking, reasonable Indians would be that Sania should be seen for what she is: a talented 18-year-old representing the country on the world stage and revelling in the attention," Sardesai wrote in a newspaper column.

"Why see Sania in any narrow, bigoted sense, even if only as a symbol of minority achievement?" DRESS CODE Pakistani tennis player Mariam Rahim remains frustrated by the dress code in her own country. "We don't have any choice," she said. "I wear salwar kameez. It is also a very difficult crowd here. "If you want quality, then these things should change."

Sports officials in Islamic Pakistan are hopeful that change will come. Pakistan recently organised its first national women's soccer championship, although under strictly segregated conditions. Pakistan athletics federation secretary Mohd Khalid Mehmood said: "We can't follow immediately...slowly, slowly, not all of a sudden." "These days women have been empowered so things are getting better for them," Pakistan women's cricket captain Shamsha Hashmi told Reuters from Lahore. "Earlier, we had to face a lot of problems from religious fanatics but more women are coming into sports now and families are more supportive." Fatima Lakhani, who was Pakistan's chef-de-mission at the recent Islamic Games in Tehran, said sports organisations wanted clothing manufactures to design sportswear that would allow women to move freely without offending religious sensibilities.