Saudi Arabia's Underground Women's Basketball Scene

Giving new meaning to the expression "She Got Game"

The Jeddah United women's basketball team trickled onto the court, each player wrapped in a black abaya and head scarf. Within minutes, the women had shed their cloaks and were in uniform – white pants and jerseys with their names in red – practicing layups, passes, and foul shots.

The team, made up mostly of Saudi students and housewives, is preparing for a local tournament this month. But what the women would really love to do, many said, is compete internationally and represent their country abroad, something Saudi Arabia does not permit.

"We want to reach Olympic levels," said Shatha Bakhsh, a law student. "We have a lot of potential, but not the chance to show it."

Saudi Arabia follows a strict version of Islam that bans men and women from mingling and does not allow women to drive or to travel without a male guardian's permission. Powerful religious clerics also ban sports for girls in public schools, deeming it un-Islamic, and recently canceled two rare all-women's events, a soccer match and a marathon. Gyms for women were closed in the early 1990s and have been allowed to reopen, but only when affiliated with hospitals. Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries competing in the Olympics without a female delegation...

There are more than a dozen women's basketball teams in this Red Sea city, the country's most liberal, involving several hundred players. Some operate legally but quietly under the umbrella of women's charitable societies or as part of private high schools and colleges, but others operate without a government permit, as in the case of Jeddah United.

Hoop Dreams, indeed. Congratulations to Jeddah United!