Norway’s Minister of Culture Abid Raja (V) wants to put pressure on international handball leaders to remove the rule according to which female beach handball teams must play in bikini bottoms, the newspaper VG writes.
Raja told the newspaper that he has sent letters to the ministers responsible for sports in Sweden and Denmark and invited them to make a joint statement against the International Handball Federation’s (IHF) rules for clothing in beach handball.
“I think it is strange that we are still here in 2021 and that – when the women themselves say that they want to choose their own clothing – they are still be pushed into wearing bikini bottoms. It is a shame that the IHF does not take into account the gender equality aspects of this, when several people point out that it is sexist,” Raja noted.
Fined for playing in shorts
The Norwegian beach handball women team recently protested against the rule by playing in shorts in the bronze match of the European Championships in Bulgaria.
They were fined by the European Handball Federation (EHF). The current rule says that women must wear a sports bra and bikini bottoms that should not be wider than ten centimeters at the sides.
The Norwegian Handball Association has previously submitted a proposal to the EHF Congress to change the so-called “panty rule.” The case will be considered at the IHF Congress in November.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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