Equal rides for women

Will the new UAE women’s team raise awareness or eyebrows?

There was some surprise when it was confirmed that UAE Team Emirates will run a women’s team in 2022.

‘Together with the Alè BTC Ljubljana Team we have found the opportunity and the availability we were looking for,’ said UAE Team Emirates principal Mauro Gianetti. ‘In collaboration with the UCI, we are preparing all the necessary documents for the completion of the acquisition of the Worldtour licence starting from 1st January 2022.’

On the team’s website the announcement was illustrated by a photograph of two young girls on bikes.

Women’s sport is clearly an area that UAE is keen to develop. It already has women’s cricket and football teams and a Women’s Sport Committee was formed in 2006 to promote women’s sport. There have also been signs of progress in attitudes and laws in recent years, yet Amnesty International’s latest report on the UAE states, ‘Women remain unequal with men under Emirati law.’