Sania MirzaSania Mirza, India’s youngest tennis prodigy, has been making headlines for a variety of reasons: winning a WTA single, her remarkable run at the US Open, her cheeky T-shirts, and lately, the Mullahs-vs-miniskirts fatwa.

Said a “leading cleric” with the Sunni Ulema Board:

“The dress she wears on the tennis courts not only doesn’t cover large parts of her body but leaves nothing to the imagination.” [link]

The ridiculous fatwa provoked angry responses from some in the blogger community:

I mean really, in almost any Muslim country these days she could be stoned to death for wearing shorts, for crying out loud. [link]

Now, not having traveled a great deal, I can’t say much about the accuracy of the statement above. But clearly, shorts and Saudi Arabia don’t go together.
Carla Khan
However, I can say something about at least one Muslim country. Pakistan has its own high-profile, trend-breaking, skirt-wearing (female!) sports star: Carla Khan.

Carla recently won the first POF WIPSA Squash tournament. She wasn’t wearing a burqa. And the local press loves her, even the notoriously conservative Urdu press. She’s currently ranked 22nd in the world and fast rising. No fatwas have been issued against her (yet).

So what’s the fuss over Sania all about anyway? Go Carla!!

More here and here.