"Hadarat Nashim", the exclusion of women, strikes again! This time not in Israel, but in Gaza.

The UNRWA has been planning the Gaza Marathon 2013 - 42 kilometers from the northern end of Gaza until the southern end of Gaza. This year they were even bringing in a number of international runners to participate. The event is used as a fundraiser for summer camps for the Gaza children.

As an aside, once again I contacted the UNRWA organizers to ask if I could participate in the Gaza Marathon. A couple years ago, in preparation for the first Gaza Marathon, I asked if I could participate and they said I could not. They said they were not set up with appropriate security procedures, they were not registering international runners, and they could not guarantee my safety and therefore I could not participate. This time, they were promoting it with international runners, so I thought there would be a chance they would allow me to run - after all, I have a US passport, and even if Israeli perhaps they would see it as mutual interests, ability to overcome politics, etc. Unfortunately, despite having written to them, I never received a response.

This morning the UNRWA sent out a message that the Gaza Marathon 2013 is canceled. the reason given is that authorities in Gaza insisted that women not be allowed to participate in the marathon. They had already sent out instructions detailing how runners form abroad should be sensitive to the local customs, including how to dress appropriately when running with dress recommendations for both male and female runners. Despite that the Gaza authorities refused to allow women to run.

Hadarat Nashim at its finest in Gaza, and the UNRWA did not ignore it.

Well, I'll just have to try again next year...