Apparently, President Barack Obama isn't the only one engaging in peace advocacy between the Middle East and the West this week.  The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) SportsUnited office, in partnership with Global Sports Partners/Sport4Peace, the University of Tennessee and the National Basketball Association, is hosting a delegation of basketball-playing girls and their coaches from Iraq beginning June 3rd and ending June 18th.

The idea is to allow for young Iraqi girls who aspire to play basketball the opportunity to learn about the sport and engage with another culture at the same time.  Hmmm, that sounds familiar (whud up, Just Like You!).

According to Sport4Peace, since 1974, girls and women’s basketball in Iraq was no longer offered as an Olympic sport opportunity.  During Saddam Hussein's rule, the Iraqi National Women's Basketball team was disbanded.  It was only until the 80's that the team was "revived" under Saddam Hussein's son, Uday.  However, under Uday's rule, many male and female athletes were subjected to horrific torture when they "did not placate [Uday's] obsession to win."

But a new day has arrived.

Ten girls, ages 14-16, and two female coaches are from Sulaymaniya, Erbil, and Baghdad will have an awesome opportunity to work with Basketball Hall of Fame coach Pat Summit of the University of Tennessee, and attend a WNBA game in Washington D.C. in the coming weeks.

This is one of those times when sports shows the world that it isn't just a verb of mere child's play or physical entertainment, but something much more.  It can be a medium through which people and communities can work together in transforming social dogma into cultural progress.

Photo courtesy of Williamhartz's Flickr page.