"But the project, begun early this year, was more than that. It was a challenge to long-held conventions regarding the roles of women and girls in the community. For some local residents, the sight of adolescent girls running and leaping on a basketball court was an indecent public spectacle, an affront to female modesty mandated by Islam. There had never been a basketball program for teenage girls in Jabal Mukabar, or any other sports program for girls that age, whose place traditionally was seen as either in school or at home, helping with household chores and looking after younger siblings. Abdo wrote letters to parents of girls who wanted to join the program, soliciting their permission. The school principal, Ghazi Souri, promised to take the heat from opponents. The idea, Abdo said, was to find allies who would make it easier to stand up to the inevitable criticism.""