One Saudi girl thought to compete in Olympics not eligible

Saudi Grand Mufti Abd al-Aziz al-Shaikh: “Women should be housewives. There is no need for them to engage in sports.”

File this under "I told you so."

The one Saudi girl thought to be able to compete in the 2012 Olympics failed to qualify and will not actually be able to compete.

So they'll allow their women to compete in the Olympics. But none will be able to.

It was a nice announcement, much applauded in the West.  The real impact on the ground? Zilch.

Via AFP:

Dalma Rushdi Malhas, tipped to become a pioneering woman competitor for Saudi Arabia at the London Olympics, has in fact failed to qualify and won't compete, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) said Monday.

 "There have been some reports in the media, but regretfully the Saudi Arabian rider Dalma Rushdi Malhas has not attained the minimum eligibility standards and consequently will not be competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games," FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos said in a statement out of Lausanne.

UPDATED: NYT has an article entitled "Saudi End to Olympics Women Ban Will Have No Practical Effect."

“They’re only doing it so they don’t get banned from the Olympics,” wrote Barry Petchesky at the Deadspin sports site. “This is progress, but it is not much progress.”

“It is only right that the Saudi government should play by the Olympic rules,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “But an eleventh hour change of course to avoid a ban does not alter the dismal and unequal conditions for women and girls in Saudi Arabia.”