Nike rolls out lightweight hijab for Muslim women athletes

What’s the story?

In an attempt to usher the Muslim clothing industry into the mainstream, the celebrated Sportswear Company Nike have introduced high-performance hijabs in the market for Muslim women athletes. This move is surely going to lead to a significantly higher representation in sport, for women from the Muslim background.

The context

The Nike Pro Hijab is all set to be launched in stores come the spring of 2018. An official statement released by Nike stated that this move comes as a result of a significant cultural shift with more and more Muslim women embracing sports.

This was initiated after hijabi runner, Sarah Attar reached out to people at an event in London in 2012.

The heart of the matter

Saudi Arabia’s Attar joined hands with Emirati weightlifting Olympian Amna Al Haddad to help inspire the project.

Al Haddad opened up to Nike about the troubles she faces with existing athletic hijabs, especially in terms of weight, movement, and breathability. She stated that she found it hard to find performance-grade head coverings and had to hand-wash the only one she owns every night during competitions.

Taking into consideration such factors that limit the potential performance of women athletes, Nike decided to push forward an initiative that would allow women to efficiently focus on their sport without putting much thought into the Hijab. They have come up with a lightweight model that the women could wear like a second skin.

The Pro Hijab has been made with durable mesh and small holes to increase airflow. With a slightly longer end, the back of the Hijab doesn’t stand the risk of coming untucked if tugged at while moving.

The prototypes have been tested on a number of women athletes, including Al Haddad, since the beginning of 2016 itself.

Conversations around Hijabs for sportswomen have been brought up time and again in the sports fraternity, from FIFA lifting the ban on head coverings in 2014, to FIBA who are still under the scanner for refusing to uplift the ban.

What’s next?

The headscarves will be officially rolled out for women to buy in the spring of 2018.

Author’s take

While there has been some criticism of the move from certain radical groups who feel that their culture is being commodified, this comes as a huge relief and boost to many who dream of engaging in their sport to the best of their abilities.