Saudi Arabia is the top contender for getting the green signal to organize the prestigious WTA Finals in 2025 and Martina Navratilova is not pleased by it.
The possibility of taking the event in Saudi Arabia has been in discussions since WTA chief Steve Simon said in June earlier this year. And now it is almost finalized for Saudi Arabia to host the year-end WTA Finals.
Navratilova who is well known for raising her voice for women’s rights after her retirement again voiced her opinion against the possible move by the WTA. She expressed her concern about the safety of gay women’s tennis players.
The 67-year-old, who herself came out as lesbian in 1981 feels that a country like Saudi Arabia is too ‘risky and dangerous’.
Her concern is the Sharia Law that is followed in the country which doesn’t allow any of their citizen to come out as homosexuals. Same-sex-activities sexual activity is prohibited for both men and women in Saudi Arabia.
In addition to potentially being captured by laws that criminalize same-sex activity, trans people may also face prosecution for failing to adhere to strict dress codes imposed by the law.
“Women still cannot divorce a man in Saudi. Men can just say I divorce you and they are done. And a woman has to come in front of a panel and be approved for to divorce by other men. So you know, the inequality there is very glaring, nevermind the horrible homosexual laws that still exists that are still on the books. So, I think they need to change that first, before we go and actually compete there. The changes needs to come first. That’s my take on it.”
– Martina Navratilova in an interview
Israeli diplomat’s response to Gaza’s reconstruction has been criticized by Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova recently criticized the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely for avoiding questions on Gaza’s reconstruction in an interview.
Martina Navratilova has been critical of some of Israel’s policies and actions amidst the war. She shared a clip from Morgan’s show ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’, where he asked Hotovely about the future of the Gazans after the war as in where they would live and what life would have after the war.
Hotovely however did not clearly answer Morgan’s questions and instead repeated her arguments about Israel’s security and Hamas’s brutality.
Navratilova was also disappointed with Hotovely’s response and expressed her dissatisfaction on X.
No answer… https://t.co/KtK5e6ep8z
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) December 6, 2023
