MUSLIM WOMEN SPORTSWEAR DRAWING ATTENTION OF ISLAMIC WOMEN

A research paper by the Birmingham Academics highlighted the prevalent prejudice against Islamic sportswomen as the high ranks had a Decalogue which did not accommodate the Islamic clothing. Though there has always been a political, cultural and religious resistance to participation which has deterred the participation of Muslim women in international sports.

For the first time, in the Bejing Olympics in 2012 women from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei participated in a number of events. Roqaya Al-Gassra, a runner from Bahrain participated in a special one-piece garment and a headscarf and won the sprint. This was a precedent, and Saudi sportswomen will take part in the Olympics for the first time in one-piece-garments. The participation itself was sycophantic. This was a good sign for Islamic women as sometime after this the London Olympic Committee and the International Olymplic committee talked about letting Muslim women participants wear hijab during their football matches. Their argument against this was that it is unsafe to wear Islamic clothing owning to the use to safety pins which now has been diverged by using stickers in place of pins. Can this be looked upon as encouraging the participation of Muslim women in sports?  Georgy Tvaltvadze, a sports analyst supports the argument by stating that external appearance of an athlete should not distract him/her from the competition and moreover, disrupt them.

New fashions open new opportunities for women who are restricted by religions in choosing their dresses. Unambiguous advents such as upcoming clothing lines for women who are also sports enthusiasts reflect the change of winds. Online shopping stores and other shopping avenues are making available sports wears for Islamic women. Designers are exploring the untapped mines of explicitly designed sportswear and swimwear for Islamic women.

Muslim sportswear concurs to the law of hijab laid down in the Qur’an. The sports and swim wears are made available in vibrant colors and waterproof material at a number of Islamic clothing online stores.  They are also available with spandex hood swimwear with white lowers to match. With options available in color combinations, the stores offering Islamic styles clothing online would give a reasonable deal on their offering too. Women searching for Muslim sportswear online have found a number of avenues (e.g  Haya Islamic Clothing) that catalogue modest sportswear for Muslim women. Women looking for Islamic sportswear can now go online and order appropriate sportswear and swimwear for themselves.

Till sometime back the notion hijab carried with itself was of suppression of Islamic women which is now transforming is what the society considers liberating. Young Muslim girls and women with much devotion to their respective religion are looking for ways to integrate it with the present culture of their respective societies. They would wear hijab in the form of appropriate sportswear and swimwear which though perceived oppositely to the regular definition of the two, uphold the virtues of modesty.