Women's Particcipation in Sport and Physical Activity in Saudi Arabia: An Intersectional Study

Abstract

Women’s participation in sport has been a globally debated topic. Despite the growing body of research and government initiatives aimed at increasing women’s mass participation in sport, limited empirical evidence has been provided on this issue through an intersectional lens. This gap in knowledge is especially relevant for Saudi Arabia as the nation is undergoing sociopolitical transformation, under the national Vision 2030 strategy, which seeks to promote women’s inclusion across various sectors, including sport. Thus, understanding the lived experiences of women’s sports become critical for generating knowledge which may in turn serve to enhance policies that promote the social inclusion of women. The overall aim of this research was to explore how Saudi women from different generations and social backgrounds experience sport participation; and to assess whether these experiences align with or diverge from the kingdom’s policy effort. Specifically, the study examines: (1) How does Saudi Arabia’s ‘Sport for All’ (SFA) policy enhance women’s participation in sport, and to what extent is it aligned with their lived experiences? (2) How do the sports participation experiences of different generations of Saudi women vary across different locations? (3) How can women’s participation in sport be increased in Saudi? To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 women from diverse backgrounds (i.e. across different ages, social classes, and cities) in two major Saudi cities: Jeddah and Riyadh. The study employs an intersectional framework to analyse how gender, age, socioeconomic status, and location interact to shape women’s sport experiences. Alongside this, Bacchi’s (2012a) ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be?’ (WPR) framework was employed to critically examine SFA policy, comparing the policy’s representation of women’s sports participation with their real-life experiences. The findings highlight key themes that underpin or shape women’s experiences and involvements in sport, and these include culture factors, geographical differences, environmental barriers, financial limitations, perceptions of body image and prevailing social expectations, as well as education and political structures. A comparison between SFA policy objectives and women's experiences reveals key gaps. The policy marks a major step in acknowledging women as a distinct and targeted category, but policy needs to evolve to identify more specific targets and gender-sensitive strategies. This would cover the gap between policy aspirations and meeting the actual needs of various women. The research findings highlight this need to be move beyond viewing women as a homogeneous group, and instead to recognise the diverse perspectives, experiences and challenges in their sport participation. The findings thus lead to the recommendations that addressing structural and socio-cultural barriers through inclusive policy development, shifts in public attitude, culturally responsive practice, and investment in accessible infrastructure are all essential to bridge the gap between policy intent and practical implementation. Ultimately, this research concluded that increasing women’s participation requires moving beyond one-size-fits-all policies. It calls for a strategy that integrates intersectionality, tackles socio-cultural limitations, and reflects women’s voices and aspirations in order to facilitate real social change.