Muslim Women in Sports
The popularity of women sports is at a all time high. Athletes such as Serena Williams, Gabby Douglas, and Candace Parker, has all excelled at their respective sports, creating a fan fair that has not been seen in women’s athletics. As popularity continues to grow, religion has had its struggles co-existing. For women of Islam, it seems that there are many challenges that remain unresolved.
Many women who practice Islam often are not able to play sports because of the Hijab. For religious reason, women who practice Islam are required to cover their hair at all times and in some cases, cover their face. However, some are able to overcome stereotypes and make the decision to play sports. In 2016, Muslim-born Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first African American female hijabi athlete to represent USA for the Rio Olympics, earning the bronze medal in Fencing. In addition to making history for women’s athletics, she also fought the stereotype of Muslim women during the time when Donald Trump was using Islamophobia to push his presidential agenda. Despite the media making noise about the remarkable achievements that Muslim women have received in sports, statistics show that only 18 percent of Muslim women participate in regular sports, compared to the 30 percent of the entire UK’s female population. Although there are a plethora of female Muslim athletes making history, certain sports make it extremely difficult for Muslims to participate because sports do not cater to their specific dress code. For instance, basketball governing body, the FIBA, prohibits female Muslim athletes from wearing the Hijab because of health and safety reasons. The US weightlifting federation also makes it difficult for Muslim women because the rules state that athletes must not wear long sleeves or long bottoms. However, Weightlifter Kulsoom Abdullah is fighting to overturn those rule after she was told that she could not compete on the national level unless she wore the weightlifting singlet. Abdullah stated “I like to think that sports federations never considered women who might wear Hijab and play the respective sport at the same time. It seems it is from fear or dislike of what they think that it represents (such as all of the negative stereotypes) or that it is going to take over the world, so to speak.” Some countries have also banned the Hijab from being worn in the boxing ring. Amaiya Zafar, a 16 year old boxer, was disqualified for defying safety rules at the Sugar Bert Boxing national championship. The controversy led to the ban of wearing religious headgear in the US being lifted a year later but, until the international policies change Zafar will not be able to compete at the national level which includes the Olympics. After receiving the news that she will not be able to compete, Zafar said, “I was told I couldn’t compete in my Hijab, even though it gave me no competitive advantages.” She also added, “Everyone supported my dreams because they knew that if I advocate and opened the door for myself, I would also be opening the door for millions of women in the boxing world, while honoring my relationship with God through what I wear. Women were not allowed to box in the United States until 1996 or compete in the Olympics until 2012 so I take my responsibility to advocate for equality in the sport very seriously.” Additionally she made the statement, “The International Boxing Association (AIBA) needs to understand that women are here to stay and that it is an honor to open the door for women of all faiths and nationalities to compete. Women like me, are being held back from achieving our full competitive potential because of the unequal treatment we receive at the hands of organisations like the AIBA.” With the help of other countries, Islamic people will hopefully make an impact in sports in the future.
Recently many countries are making the stride to provide a sportier version of the Hijab for the movement of having Muslim women partake in sports. As a result, many people on social media are boycotting companies because of their recent movement. A sporting company in France is making a designed Hijab for runners but, many of these designs have caused controversy because many people have a fear of Islamic terrorism. After the news of France making the Hijab, the company backtracked on making the design due to of many its employees receiving verbal and physical threats through calls and emails. The company, Nike, also started selling Hijabs for Muslim women. The Nike Hijab sells for 35 United States dollars. Nike explained “…that fewer than one in seven girls participates in locally recommended sports activities for an hour or more in Middle Eastern countries and said it hopes to inspire more women and girls there who still face barriers and limited access to sport.” Nike’s version of the Hijab has opened the door for Muslim women to express themselves freely in sports. From the words of Manai Rostom, “It means the world to have the leading sport brand in the world come up with a product like this,” Rostom said. “It’s not just speaking to athletes, but speaking to the whole world that Nike supports all athletes to literally go out there and Just Do It.” Nike has helped Muslim women gain publicity by using Muslim women to model their sporty Hijab.
As society moves forward, people are becoming more aware of the various acts of discrimination which includes, race, sexuality, and lastly religion. Considering the fact that the United States is the free world, it is important that all walks of life have a voice. Many companies have heard the outcry of Islamic women and are making strides to make sure they have equal opportunity to compete in athletics, without having to compromise their religious beliefs. It’s a joy to see that many companies are putting in the effort to reduce the amount of inequalities in women athletics, and are giving girls and future young women an opportunity to express themselves without having to compromise what is apart of them.
-A’nya Newton
