Abstract
Women and sport in Asia provides an organized and comprehensive look at the history, development, and participation of Asian women in sports. This book covers all areas of policy development, theory, and research regarding females’ sport and physical activity in Asia. It further deals with the dynamic extent of female physical activities from the school and community level to high-level and elite performance in sports. The writers focus on gender impartiality along with women's issues regarding their participation in sports and the many intersectional factors that affect their lives. Additionally, this book discusses sports from multi-disciplinary perspectives: sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, and history by leading scholars from different regions of Asia. The book helps the reader to understand the diversity, challenges, and achievements of Asian sportswomen globally.
Providing pivotal information about theory and policy that are pertinent to physical education and sports for women, this book is an effort to fill many gaps in the literature regarding the sports life of Asian women. The existing literature rarely embraces the voices of Asian women players regarding their status in sports. Therefore, this text is a significant breakthrough in bringing forward the perspectives of Asian women athletes, in collaboration with their male collaborators. Female leaders in sports in Asia share their individual observations and experiences, focusing on the physical, psychological, and socio-cultural factors that affect their participation in sports.
Various continents globally have diversified indicators—cultural, economic, social, and political—regarding women's participation in sports. The Asian continent covers approximately 30% of the earth, with around 60% of the world's population. Furthermore, the Asian continent has 48 autonomous nations, with three countries that have special relations with China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Asia has a rich and ancient history of distinctive civilizations, ones that include diversified cultures, languages, races, ethnicities, and religions.
Women and sport in Asia presents overviews of research that identify emergent ideas and practices concerning sports and gender in Asian countries. Throughout this book, the primary focus has been given to the gendered participation of people in physical education and sports; however, it also highlights the crucial factors that significantly support and hinder the participation of women and girls in physical sports. In this way, Women and sport in Asia exemplifies the knowledge exchange, international cooperation, and potential reach of scholars of different disciplines, experiences, languages, and national origins.
The inspiration for the compilation of this book was instigated by the network of scholars from Asian countries who are interested in sports and physical education for women and girls, the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW). IAPESGW noted the international recognition given two prior books, Women and Sport in Latin America and Muslim Women and Sport. Its members then moved ahead to produce this edited volume. These two previous books significantly contributed to a global understanding of modern-day Islam and its multifaceted implications for Muslim women in sport.
The invaluable support of the International Council of Physical Education and Sport (ICSSPE) was instrumental in the creation and publication of this book that features women and sport in Asia. This book highlights the status of women in sports in 20 countries: Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Turkey, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Qatar, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, and Tajikistan. The issues related to women's rights, gender discrimination, and participation in domestic and international sports are explored with reference to many aspects of life in each respective country.
The policy issues regarding women’s participation in physical education and sports of Asians are the topic of discussion of Part I. The first chapter previews the diversity of Asia along with the content and structure of the book. Gender inequity is the topic of the second chapter—its history, legislative records, and policy development at an international level. Implementing policies to empower women through sport internationally is the focus of the third chapter. The book reviews the impact on women and girls of development policies and good practices in Asian countries.
The twenty chapters of Part II discuss many efforts to achieve gender equity for women and girls in sports in Asian countries. Institutes, communities, and arenas are identified that have made it possible for every person to take part in sports and in high-performance athletics at the local, national, and international levels. The chapters portray the details of many countries’ unique geographical, political, economic, and demographic contours. Part II also focuses on the socio-cultural settings and issues of women's rights. It also includes discussions of disability issues of sportswomen, sports-related curriculum, school-based sports facilities, resources regarding opportunities for unorganized sports activities, and community activities. For example, chapters cover indigenous games, traditional sports, and public and private providers of physical activities. The key enablers and deterrents of women's involvement in local, national, and international leadership programs, high-performance sports, media activities, governing bodies, and management-based events are also highlighted. The last chapter of the final part presents summaries and recommendations of the authors and the editor concerning future ways to empower Asian women through sport.
The book acknowledges the rich cultural, political, and social patterns of Asian countries that are rarely discussed in mainstream English publications. The book includes necessary information about the culture, social, and political patterns of women's sports initiatives and their chances of participation in sports in physical education and more advanced athletic levels. Despite the difficulties imposed by the COVID-19 global pandemic, the editor and authors have represented the complex realities of women's access and lack thereof to sports in many Asian regions.
The book will be very beneficial for the students, researchers, and policymakers who are working in sports studies, gender studies, women's studies, and Asian studies. Women and sport in Asia is the first book of its kind that analyzes women's participation in sport and physical education across the entire Asian continent.
