Chapter 5: Gender-Washing or Gender Equity? Women and Sports in Contemporary Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing remarkable socio-cultural transformations, which involve efforts to enhance gender equality nationwide. The Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, which strives to ensure equal opportunities for both men and women, has instigated endeavours to redefine the societal status of women across various sectors, including sports. This paper explores critical issues concerning gender (in)equality and sports in contemporary Saudi Arabia. We apply contemporary feminist trends in the Arab World (Al-Anazi) in conjunction with feminist critiques of neoliberalism (Fraser) and colonialism (Cusicanqui) to shed light on the data collected through in-depth interviews with young female Saudis during extensive ethnographic fieldwork in the country. Our findings will highlight the tensions surrounding the sports participation of young Saudi Arabian women. This analysis aims to ascertain whether sports will lead to feminist emancipation or merely serve as part of a larger example of gender-washing operations in the country.