Sport helps Somali girls face life in refugee camp

DADAAB, Kenya, Mar 8 (Reuters) In the sweltering heat of a refugee camp in northern Kenya, Somali teenager Zahara Hassan and her friends play volleyball hidden from prying male eyes.

Despite the secluded location, their legs, arms and heads must remain covered in keeping with strict Islamic custom.

Developed with the help of the UN refugee agency, US sports giant Nike has provided outfits consisting of trousers, a long-sleeved T-shirt, long skirt and headscarf, all made of a light material in bright colours.

Part of a pilot project launched in Kenya's Dadaab camp, ''Together for Girls'', the kits are part of efforts to encourage girls in some of the world's poorest communities to take up sport.

Girls in Uganda, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo will also benefit.

In Dadaab, home to more than 150,000 refugees from neighbouring Muslim Somalia, the moves have met some resistance from elders and youths alike.

''When girls are doing sports, the issue of interaction is there,'' said Mohammed Nur, a religious leader in the dusty camp.

''There is a high chance of them taking the culture of other people and of being attracted to the opposite sex.'' But Hassan, 17, is unfazed. After a long battle to convince her mother to let her train with the team, she says she will go on playing, despite the risk of stigma or even violence.

''They will even attack you and beat you,'' she told Reuters, referring to groups of young men who denounced sports for girls.

Elizabeth Mwiyeria, a Dadaab aid worker, said that while some residents saw it as immoral, fun and physical exercise were an essential way to escape the drudgery of life in the camp.

It also encouraged interaction and built self-confidence, she said, in a society where many girls are married off at 15.

''The uniform came in because of a need for them to dress in a way that is acceptable,'' Mwiyeria said, adding that it would take time to change attitudes in the remote camp.

''Some say when (girls) play they get strong, and I think the men don't like that,'' she said.

Reuters SY DB1014