FARAH Ann, the Malay girl who won gold medals for gymnastics in the SEA Games in Singapore recently, has become a new symbol for Muslim women’s rights in sports.
Like Malala, the ordinary village girl in Pakistan who rose to world fame as a symbol of freedom after the Taliban brutally attacked her for being outspoken about the rights of Muslim girls to receive education, Farah is fast rising to similar fame, not of her own choosing, but as a result of the many vicious criticisms from conservative minded Muslims who take offence at the tight sports costume that she, like other athletes, wore for the gymnastics event.