I cannot describe how embarrassed and annoyed I was after listening to a fatwa issued by a local mosque imam. Some people had asked him about the permissibility of women watching football matches on TV. He responded by saying that when women watch football on TV, they only watch because they want to look at the player's thighs and do not care about anything else. He also said some husbands do not let their wives watch football and threaten to divorce them if they do. He added that women do not benefit from watching football, that it is impermissible for women to look at men who are unrelated to them and that it is extremely haram to look at players' thighs, many of whom are dressed in tight clothing. To be frank, I do not know why women are looked down upon more than men. This is common among scholars and extremists. How is it possible for anyone to say that women only watch football to enjoy looking at players' thighs? Is this the only thing women care about? It does not make any sense to me. Are we saying that women do not get excited when players score? Personally, I do not watch football, but I respect the freedom of women who love watching the sport as long as they do not become fanatic about it. The imam's personal opinion does not mean anything to me, and as far as I am concerned, it would have been better if he had kept it to himself. But he chose to go public and this was covered in the media. His judgment is harsh and it reduces women to sexual objects. The imam did not only say that such things bring corruption but also banned women from looking at men who are not related to them. Should women become blind so that they are unable to see men, such as their drivers, street cleaners, grocery shop owners, doctors, professors, etc? How can someone make something impermissible when Allah Almighty has made it permissible? Women look at men on the street, regardless of whether they are running, walking or playing football.
