Mo Salah: “Women in Arab world should be treated better”

Los Angeles: Egyptian football star Mohamed “Mo” Salah has called for change in the way women are treated in the Arab world, in an interview with Time magazine published Wednesday.

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The 26-year-old Liverpool forward was named one of the US magazine’s 100 most influential figures of the year, alongside other athletes including Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Naomi Osaka.

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Salah told Time that while his attitudes towards gender equality had evolved over the years, he wanted to see more change.

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“I think we need to change the way we treat women in our culture,” Salah was quoted as saying. “It’s not optional.”

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He said the treatment of women “in my culture and in the Middle East” had changed his opinions on gender issues.

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“I support the woman more than I did before, because I feel like she deserves more than what they give her now, at the moment,” Salah told the magazine.

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Salah is an icon in Egypt after helping the country qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the first time they had reached the finals of the event since 1990.

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He was named African Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and was also English football’s Player of the Year in 2017-2018 following a dazzling season with Liverpool.

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He told Time he has learned to cope with the “little bit of pressure” that comes with his elevated profile, while expressing pride at being regarded as a role model.

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“To be the first Egyptian in (this) situation and no one has done this before… it’s something different,” he said, insisting that superstardom had not changed his lifestyle.

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“I just live my life normal,” he said. “Most of the time I stay at home, I don’t like to go out.”