The 2012 Olympic Games is a fantastic opportunity to focus our attention on women's participation in the Olympics, as this is the first time that every nation competing will have a women on its team. Women will be represented from football to boxing to archery - a stark difference from the Olympics in 1896, when women were completely barred from competition. Despite the fact that women's athletic participation is still contested in many countries, this Special Focus will be the occasion to celebrate a milestone, with women participating from Saudi Arabia to the United States, the latter even sending more women than men to compete. See how media are reporting on this.

See Also

• Women in Sports
• Women and Tennis
• Softball
• Marathons and Gender Equality
• Special Focus - Women and the World Cup
• Women and Girls in Sports: An Equal Playing Field

Special focus in the news

• Saudi Women Speak Out (Huffington Post 17.08.2012)

• Women made big gains at Olympics, but challenges remain (People's World 16.08.2012)

• London Olympics hailed as women’s Olympics (Malaysia Star 16.08.2012)

• Women the big Olympic story (Vancouver Sun 16.08.2012)

• Saudi invention: Female repression (Hamilton Spectator 16.08.2012)

• Olympic Women Deserve Substance (ABQ Journal 15.08.2012)

• How women athletes made history at London Olympics (Zeenews.com 15.08.2012)

• Olympics: Now make a level playing field for women (CNN 14.08.2012)

• Saudi Women in the Olympics: Breakthrough or Tokenism? (Huffington Post (blog) 13.08.2012)

• Women's 2012 success is a stepping stone to equality in sport (The Guardian - Blog 13.08.2012)

• In a joyful London Olympics, women athletes take the throne (Boston Globe 13.08.2012)

• Olympics: Women hail landmark games (SBS 13.08.2012)

• Lundy highlights sport's gender bias (Sydney Morning Herald 13.08.2012)

• John Smallwood: Women fuel U.S. Olympic success (Philadelphia Inquirer 13.08.2012)

• U.S. women Olympians ‘hoping we have a million little girls who are inspired’ (Washington Post 13.08.2012)

• RPT-Olympics-Women warriors urged to keep up the fight (Reuters 13.08.2012)

• Progress toward equality at Olympics, but more needed (Fox News 12.08.2012)

• Women’s Olympic success: a flood that began as a trickle (Washington Post (blog) 12.08.2012)

• Olympics 2012: Summer Games end with key victory for women (Washington Times 12.08.2012)

• Olympics chief: Improving women's access to sports 'will take time' (NBCNews.com 12.08.2012)

• Allow women to compete and be who they are (Deseret News 12.08.2012)

• Gender equality in the Olympics not quite there (New Straits Times 11.08.2012)

• Olympic athletes do the heavy lifting for gender equality (The National 11.08.2012)

• Olympics close to gender equity (Vancouver Sun 11.08.2012)

• Rio Olympics should be gender equal, says Jowell (The Guardian 10.08.2012)

• Women and the Olympics: Gender equality, finally! (National Post 10.08.2012)

• Women make mark at Olympics (Waterloo Record 10.08.2012)

• Usain Bolt’s Olympics feat just widened the gender gap (Livemint 10.08.2012)

• Afghan woman shows true Olympics spirit (Statesman Journal 09.08.2012)

• What do the London 2012 Olympics reveal about women’s empowerment? (Institute of Development Studies 09.08.2012)

• Nicola Adams blasts through Olympic boxing's gender barrier (BBC Sport 09.08.2012)

• India's female wrestler pins gender stereotypes (HLNtv.com 09.08.2012)

• Olympics football: Petition seeks gender equality for Japan women (NDTV 09.08.2012)

• Geoff Calkins: So which one is the 'weaker' sex at Olympics? (Memphis Commercial Appeal 09.08.2012)

• Athlete or Sex Symbol? What Effect is Olympic Exposure Having on Women at Home and on Camera? (Huffington Post UK (blog) 09.08.2012)

• For Women at the Olympics, the Spotlight Can Be Harsh (New York Times (blog) 08.08.2012)

• Women in Olympics (News Tribe (blog) 08.08.2012)

• Column: Pioneering Indian boxer Mary Kom at London Games: “Women can do everything.” (Washington Post 08.08.2012)

• Sam Mellinger: Much accomplished, much more to do on the way to gender equality (Sacramento Bee 08.08.2012)

• For some women of the world, running is not a sport but a declaration (TheNewsTribune.com 08.08.2012)

• Success of U.S. women at London Games buoyed by gender equity progress (MiamiHerald.com 08.08.2012)

• Girls at the Olympics (Huffington Post UK 08.08.2012)

• Women dominate Olympic headlines, and podium (Huffington Post 07.08.2012)

• London Olympics: Woman power at its peak (NDTVSports.com 07.08.2012)

• London 2012: Japan and Australia review athletes' travel in gender equality row (The Guardian 07.08.2012)

• Kayaker becomes 1st woman to compete in 8 Olympics (Huffington Post 07.08.2012)

• Olympics-Boxing-Intriguing cast of women boxers take to stage (Reuters 07.08.2012)

• The 'Golden' Ratio: The One Number That Describes How Men's World Records Compare With Women's (The Atlantic 07.08.2012)

• Women in the 2012 London Olympics (Examiner.com 06.08.2012)

• Olympic Women Take Lead Role (HispanicBusiness.com 06.08.2012)

• Olympic gender equity still far off for many (Globe and Mail 06.08.2012)

• Go girl! Women pushing to close gender gap in sports (The Daily Star 06.08.2012)

• In historic shift, women take lead role in Olympics (USA TODAY 06.08.2012)

• Girls are winning the gender games (Express.co.uk 06.08.2012)

• Women Finally Get Their Chance to Be Contenders in Olympic Boxing (New York Times 05.08.2012)

• Success of Britain's wonder women have made London 2012 the girlie Games (Daily Mail 05.08.2012)

• He Said, She Said: The Olympics and Gender Equality (Patch.com 05.08.2012)

• SportsMANship still reigns at Olympics (London Free Press 04.08.2012)

• What's Wrong with Media Coverage of Women Olympians? (Huffington Post (blog) 03.08.2012)

• Olympics: Women's Boxing Set for Knockout Debut (Seattle Post Intelligencer 03.08.2012)

• Olympics-Athletics-Sprinter sounds clarion call to Afghan women (Reuters 03.08.2012)

• Olympics 2012: Two women make history at judo, America's Harrison and Saudi's Shaherkani (Washington Times 03.08.2012)

• Olympics-Go girl! Women pushing to close sporting gender gap (Reuters 03.08.2012)

• Saudi women’s Olympic judo bout over in 82 seconds (New York Daily News 03.08.2012)

• Unequal Olympics: An Open Letter to Jacques Rogge (Huffington Post UK (blog) 02.08.2012)

• London 2012 Olympics: first Saudi Arabian female Olympian Wodjan Shaherkani set for maiden competitive judo bout (Telegraph.co.uk 02.08.2012)

• Summer Olympics: Greatest Female Gymnasts of All Time (Yahoo! Sports 02.08.2012)

• Women's Gymnastics: The Olympics As Reality TV‎ (New Yorker (blog) 02.08.2012)

• How A Hijab Controversy Almost Undermined The Olympics’ Goal Of Increasing Female Participation (ThinkProgress 01.08.2012)

• Once banned, women's soccer thriving at Olympics (Newsday (blog) 01.08.2012)

• Female participation in the Olympic Games – we’ve come a long way….or have we? (Montreal Gazette (blog) 31.07.2012)

• Olympics boxing: More women wanted for Rio 2016 (BBC Sport 31.07.2012)

• Qatar Flaunts its Commitment to Gender Equality With an Exhibition Dedicated to Sportswomen (ARTINFO 31.07.2012)

• Olympics-Women athletes aim to keep the spotlight post-Games (Reuters 31.07.2012)

• London 2012: Evolution trumps equality at the Olympics (The Guardian (blog) 31.07.2012)

• Women's gymnastics gold a teen dream for U.S. (Los Angeles Times 31.07.2012)

• Saudi woman approved to wear headscarf during Olympics judo competition (CNN 31.07.2012)

• Female Olympic Athletes Still Not Taken Seriously (U.S. News & World Report (blog) 30.07.2012)

• 2012 Olympics: Women comprise more than 40 percent of the athletes represented (Examiner.com 30.07.2012)

• London Olympics: Women from three Muslim countries are pioneers (Los Angeles Times 30.07.2012)

• Olympic Stars Top List Of The 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes (Forbes 30.07.2012)

• Afghani female sprinter resists country's old ideals, vows to show women new future (The Tand D.com 30.07.2012)

• Gender Gap Is Obvious To Women's Team (Hartford Courant 29.07.2012)

• London 2012: Steps toward gender equality, steps backward at Olympics (National Post 29.07.2012)

• Women well-represented at Olympics, but not yet treated as equals (Vancouver Sun 29.07.2012)

• The Year of the Woman: The London Olympics Strike Early for Gender Equality (TIME 29.07.2012)

• Saudi Arabia's female athletes score for Muslim women (Washington Times 29.07.2012)

• 2012 Olympics: The women's games? (Longmont Daily Times-Call 29.07.2012)

• A Giant Leap for Women, but Hurdles Remain (New York Times 29.07.2012)

• An Olympic moment for women (Los Angeles Times 27.07.2012)

• At London Olympics, women’s athletes’ wardrobes are source of debate (Washington Post 27.07.2012)

• North Korean women’s soccer team back in seclusion after flag mix-up; organizers apologize (The Washington Post 26.07.2012)

• Saudi Women's Olympics Debut 'Means Very Little' for Gender Equality, Experts Say (US News 25.07.2012)

• 2 Saudi women walk different paths to Olympics (MiamiHerald.com 25.07.2012)

• Five American Women Who Will Compete in Their Fifth Olympic Games in London (Yahoo! Sports 25.07.2012)

• Olympic Fever Starts Now for Nadeshiko Japan (The Wall Street Journal - Blog 25.07.2012)

• How Women Have Already Triumphed at the 2012 Olympics (The Atlantic 25.07.2012)

• Olympic Preview: Women's Soccer (Fox News Latino 24.07.2012)

• The Women of the Olympics: Then and Now (Huffington Post 24.07.2012)

• Olympians complain of gender discrimination (Times Argus 22.07.2012)

• Olympics-Battle of the sexes over Australian flag bearer role (Reuters.com 22.07.2012)

• Friday's Olympic roundup: Women athletes get short end on flights (Detroit News 21.07.2012)

• Women’s Paralympic basketball team coming to Mooresville (Charlotte Observer 20.07.2012)

• 2012 Olympics: Australia, Japan Criticized For Olympian Gender Discrimination (Huffington Post 20.07.2012)

• Sexist Soccer? Japan’s World Cup Women Fly Economy; Men Relax in Business (The Wall Street 19.07.2012)

• 'Playing Ball' With Saudi Women (Huffington Post 18.07.2012)

• London 2012: Olympics used as fitness motivation for British women (The Washington Post 17.07.2012)

• Inside Camp Karolyi: Building the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team (TIME - Olympics 16.07.2012)

• 2012 Women’s Boxing Olympics roster, slideshow (Examiner.com 15.07.2012)

• Olympian Hope Solo: ‘It Takes a Lot to Rattle Me’ (The Daily Beast 16.07.2012)

• Olympic Weightlifting: Khadija Mohammed Blazes Landmark Trail To London From United Arab Emirates (Huffingtomn Post 15.07.2012)

• Iranian woman becomes Olympic trailblazer (AFP 15.07.2012)

• Saudi women head to London, but clerics still oppose sports for girls (Global Post 13.07.2012)

• First women to compete for Saudi Arabia (Deseret News 13.07.2012)

• IOC: Saudis to send 2 female athletes to Olympics for 1st time (The Washington Post 12.07.2012)

• An Olympic first: Female athletes competing for every country (Los Angeles Times 12.07.2012)

• London 2012 Olympics: women outnumber men for first time in USA Games team (The Telegraph 11.07.2012)

• PREVIEW-Olympics-Boxing-Women knock men out of the limelight (Reuters.com 10.07.2012)

• Why Women Watch the Olympics (but Tune Out Other Sports) (TIME Olympics 10.07.2012)

• Ladies first: Why 2012 is the Women's Games (The Independent 08.07.2012)

• If there’s no women on Saudi Olympic plane, the IOC should send it right back home (The Washington Post 06.07.2012)

• Olympics chief: No guarantee Saudis will send women athletes to London (Deseret News 06.07.2012)

• Score 1 for Saudi Women’s Rights (New York Times - Blog 06.07.2012)

• Saudi Arabia Not Guaranteed To Send Female Athletes To London Olympics, Says IOC President (Huffington Post 06.07.2012)

• Olympics-Battle of the sexes swings from ring to pool (Reuters 05.07.2012)

• Rogge: No guarantee Saudis to send women to London (ESPN 04.07.2012)

• Saudi women allowed to compete, but will fear keep them home? (The Christian Science Monitor 02.07.2012)

• Saudi women worry about Olympic OK (StarTribune 02.07.2012)

• Saudi female athletes fear Olympic pressure will lead to a backlash at home (The Globe and Mail 02.07.2012)

• Saudi female athletes fear pressure to send women to Olympics may lead to crackdown on sports (The Washington Post 02.07.2012)

• Saudi Arabia Lifts Ban on Olympic Women (The Daily Beast 01.07.2012)

• LONDON 2012: Women boxers finally join the fight in London for Olympic gold (The Washington Post 27.06.2012)

• Column: Get Saudi women in the Olympics (Bennington Banner 26.06.2012)

• Saudi End to Olympics Women Ban Will Have No Practical Effect (International Herald Tribune 26.06.2012)

• Saudi Arabia to Let Women Compete in Olympics (The Wall Street Journal 26.06.2012)

• Saudi Arabia to let women compete in Olympics for first time (CNN 26.06.2012)

• Saudi women are given their Olympic chance (Thw Washington Post - Opinions 26.06.2012)

• Saudi women allowed to compete in London 2012 Olympics - But government will not endorse them (Canada.Com 26.06.2012)

• Activists Press Saudis on Women in Olympics (The Wall Street Journal 26.06.2012)

• Saudi Arabia To Allow Female Athletes To Compete In Olympics For First Time (RTT News 26.06.2012)

• Saudi Arabia may send women to the Olympics (Los Angeles Times 25.06.2012)

• Saudi Arabia to permit women to compete in Olympics for 1st time at London Games (The Washington Post 25.06.2012)

• Column: Quit Scrabbling! Get Saudi women in Games (The Miami Herald 25.06.2012)

• Saudis clear women to compete (Associated Press - ESPN 25.06.2012)

• Women May Compete for Saudi Arabia (The New York Times 25.06.2012)

• UPDATE 2-Saudi says will enter women for London Olympics (Reuters 25.06.2012)

• Saudi Arabia to let women compete in Olympics for first time (CNN 25.06.2012)

• London 2012 Olympics: Saudis allow women to compete (BBC 24.06.2012)