VOA慢速英语2019 苏丹妇女追逐足球梦（在线收听）

All her life, Elham Balatone wanted to play soccer like her brothers.

Elham Balatone一生都想像她的兄弟一样踢足球。

However, in Sudan, where she lives, women could be arrested and beaten for putting on soccer clothing in the strict Muslim country.

但是，在她居住的苏丹，妇女可能因在严格的穆斯林国家穿足球服而被捕并殴打。

She played anyway.

她还是玩。

"There's nothing in this world that I love more than soccer. Please let me play," she said she told her family.

她对家人说：“在这个世界上，我最爱的就是足球。请让我踢球。”

For years, she and other women played secretly.

多年来，她和其他女性都在秘密玩耍。

Until now.

到现在。

Recently, Sudan's sports minister watched the women play in a sports center in the capital Khartoum where the country celebrated a new, official women's soccer league.

最近，苏丹体育部长在首都喀土穆的体育中心观看了这些女子的比赛，该国庆祝了一个新的官方女子足球联赛。

Even Balatone's family was happy about it.

甚至Balatone的家人对此也感到高兴。

The new league is about more than a game. Sudan is trying to move away from 30 years of leadership that followed Shariah, a strict understanding of Islamic law that limits what women can do.

新联赛不仅仅是一场比赛。苏丹正试图摆脱伊斯兰教法之后30年的领导地位，伊斯兰教法对伊斯兰法律的严格理解限制了女性的能力。

Officials are making changes after the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. In November, officials canceled a "public order" law that, activists say, had been used to discriminate against women.

活动人士称，在前总统奥马尔·巴希尔（Omar al-Bashir）于2019年4月被罢免之后，官员们正在做出改变。11月，官员们取消了一项“公共秩序”法，据激进分子称，该法曾被用来歧视妇女。

But not everyone is happy. Some extreme religious conservatives are pushing back.

但是，并非所有人都感到高兴。一些极端的宗教保守派正在退缩。

Preacher AbdulHay Yousif and others have said permitting women to play soccer will "destroy religion and morals."

传教士阿卜杜勒·海·尤西夫（AbdulHay Yousif）和其他人说，允许妇女踢足球会“破坏宗教和道德”。

"What manhood would allow a Muslim woman to appear before men...with her arms, legs...exposed and then run before them?" Yousif asked religious followers in October just as the league began.

“什么样的男子气概会让穆斯林妇女露在男人面前……她的胳膊，腿……露出来然后在他们面前奔跑？”联盟成立之初，尤西夫（Yousif）于10月向宗教信徒问道。

He also said Sudan's minister for sport and youth, a woman, "doesn't believe in what we believe in. He called her "an apostate." This has resulted in legal action between them.

他还说，苏丹体育和青年部长，一名妇女，“不相信我们的信仰。他称她为”叛教者。”这导致他们之间采取了法律行动。

Another pro-Shariah group called on preachers to "expose the government's secularization plots."

另一个支持伊斯兰教义的组织呼吁传教士“公开政府的世俗化阴谋”。

Critics argue that some conservatives are using the methods of the former president al-Bashir. They say he criticized political enemies using religious language to control women and stop change.

批评家认为，一些保守派正在使用前总统巴希尔的方法。他们说他批评政治敌人使用宗教语言控制妇女并阻止变革。

Yousif's words have not affected the league. But Taghreed Awoda, an official for one of the teams, said the argument was a part of the greater fight for change.

优素福的话并没有影响联盟。但是其中一支车队的官员塔格里德·阿沃达（Taghreed Awoda）表示，这种说法是更大的争取变革的一部分。

Awoda said "to have a women's soccer league play in Sudan," destroys the world al-Bashir created.

Awoda说“在苏丹有一个女子足球联赛”，破坏了al-Bashir创造的世界。

Under al-Bashir, laws that controlled women and their clothing targeted the poor, uneducated and political activists, Awoda said. Women players were usually left alone if they played quietly although one group of women was arrested for a short time.

阿沃达说，在巴希尔的统治下，控制妇女及其服装的法律针对的是贫穷，未受过教育的政治活动家。尽管一群女性在短时间内被捕，但如果她们静静地打比赛，她们通常会被单独留下。

"Now the moment has come when they can show people that women could play just like men," said Amany Anas, a player for the al-Tahadi team.

塔哈迪（al-Tahadi）队的球员阿曼尼·阿纳斯（Amany Anas）说：“现在是时候，他们可以向人们展示女性可以像男性一样踢球了。”

The players said there is no conflict between their religion and soccer.

球员们说，他们的宗教信仰和足球之间没有冲突。

"I pray and I perform my Islamic duties. I see no problem," Anas said.

阿纳斯说：“我祈祷，履行伊斯兰职责。我认为没有问题。”

重点词汇：

Words in This Story：

soccer – n. a game (more commonly called football) played between two teams of 11 players in which a round ball is moved toward a goal usually by kicking

strict – adj. demanding that people obey rules or behave in a certain way

league – n. a group or club

preacher – n. one who teaches religious views

allow –v. to permit, to let happen

expose – v. something that is open for everyone to see

apostate – n. someone whose beliefs have changed and who no longer belongs to a religious or political group

secularization – n. the process of removing religion from something