A country that is almost exclusively Muslim, Somalia’s first all-female basketball tournament began on Thursday and features teams from all five regional administrations, including the capital city of Mogadishu.
SRC head Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salat announced that the sports tournament is inappropriate and violates tenets of Islamic culture.
"We are warning against women's games, it is something that Islam does not allow," he declared, according to CCTV Africa. "It is not good for men to watch women clad in sporting attire, culturally and religiously. It is a shame. This can cause destruction and suffering."
In June, the SRC sharply criticized a UN-backed law passed by the country’s Gender Ministry calling for gender equality, same-sex marriage, and making the suggestion that 30 percent of the nation’s parliament be female.
The first game is to take place Thursday, in the northeastern town of Garowe, with Mogadishu facing off against Hirshabelle.
