By The only person who can understand how awful it is to workout in a non-breathable hijab is…well, a Muslim woman who wears hijab. For those of us who’ve played sports, we’ve made do with the icky feeling of a sweaty hijab post workout – because really, what other choice did we have? But one British baddie is changing the game for us, and we couldn’t more excited.
Ruqsana Begum is girl crush material. She’s a Muslim Muay Thai fighter, who is not only currently fighting for a world title, but also in the process of launching a sports-friendly hijab, aptly called SportsHijab. In a recent interview with CNN, Begum said:
“Sports need to be open to all backgrounds including Muslim women who might be intimidated by the idea of walking into a gym.”
Begum decided to join the likes of other amazing Muslim women who have made contributions to the sports fashion world, creating a hijab made of Lycra, a stretchy fabric that doesn’t come loose during a workout – so it’s basically made for future super heroes like us.
In addition to being the designer behind a hijab that will no doubt revolutionize the world of sports for Muslim women, she’s also won the bronze medal in an international competition in Bangkok, a gold medal at a competition in Latvia, and was a torchbearer at the 2012 Olympics in London. Did I mention she’s the captain of the British Muay Thai team?
Needless to say, we at Muslim Girl are pretty excited to get our hands on one of her sports hijabs.
Photos: Ruqsana Begum/Facebook
Salam alaykum,
It’s a great initiative on her part, but she’s actually joining a long line of “sports hijab” manufacturers. Long gone are the days of the “alien head” sports hijab; now there are plenty of options for sporting hijabis. My favourites are Nashata and Friniggi hijabs – practical, breathable, comfortable – and yet still a nice shape.
Ruqsana’s advantage is she’s well known and is based in the west, so may have more market leverage. Personally speaking, though, I’d probably still pay the extra handling fee to import mine and get a product that has really thoughtfully been developed by those who fully appreciate the full spectrum of practical issues.
This is my take on the subject: https://eidmudrun.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/the-hijabi-adventurer/ 🙂