On the left is my friend Nira
On the right is Ibtihaj Muhammad
At the Rio Olympics we had the first hijab wearing Muslim compete on behalf of Team USA- Ibtihaj Muhammad. It was after seeing Ibtihaj fencing I was reminded about my love for running. After seeing her represent Team USA my thought process was more or less like wait a second wearing a hijab doesn't limit you from competing at the Olympics? Did the rules change? Was that ever a rule?
It took a second for me to realize that obviously there was a never a rule that hijab wearing Muslim women couldn't compete in the Olympics on behalf of Team USA. Rather, no hijab wearing American Muslim ever pursued such a path before.
This is where Ibtihaj Muhammad comes in. She competed for Team USA in Fencing. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only hijab wearing muslim who thought wait we can do that- since when?
The answer to that question is that we've always been able to compete in a sport for our country at the Olympics, it just took one to lead the way for us to realize that door has always been open for us.
On the left is my friend Nira
On the right is Ibtihaj Muhammad
* also can we talk about Ibtihaj's outfit YAS *
In the middle of September, Ibtihaj Muhammad was having a pop-up shop for her clothing line Louella. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram - you'll probably remember me mentioning how shook I was at meeting an idol of mine.
I can confirm I am still shook that I met Ibtihaj Muhammad.
The huge thing for me is the message her being on Team USA sent to all us hijab wearing Muslims in America as well as around the world who may not have seen themselves represented in sports. I'm sure after seeing her compete for Team USA at the Olympics, it helped other Muslim girls realize they are capable of anything they set their mind to, even competing for their country at the Olympics. There are no limitations.
The huge thing for me is the message her being on Team USA sent to all us hijab wearing Muslims in America as well as around the world who may not have seen themselves represented in sports. I'm sure after seeing her compete for Team USA at the Olympics, it helped other Muslim girls realize they are capable of anything they set their mind to, even competing for their country at the Olympics. There are no limitations.
In retrospect, all limits are self imposed. Most people sometimes look at something that is challenging and think to themselves oh how can I ever do that?
Well, you can start by taking the first step.
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Edit: so I saw this interview with Zendaya talking about representation and thought to include it: Zendaya on Blackness, Beyonce, and Telling Disney 'No'
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It's so important for all women to feel represented in areas such as sport, in TV and movies, and in books too! It's all too common that women in the media are white, straight, and slim, which represents only a tiny fraction of the diversity of society! Hearing about women in hijab competing in the olympics is wonderful, good on them for pursuing their goal! What you look like or how you choose to dress should never hold you back so this is amazing to see!
ReplyDeleteAbbey ❤️ http://www.abbeylouisarose.co.uk
Yes!! In terms of TV you actually just reminded me of the recent interview Zendaya did where she discussed the importance of representation in mainstream media; just edited in the link to it above! I can definitely agree that in movies and TV there needs to be a lot more diversity because if people don't see themselves represented it might seem like oh hey nope that's not a career for me, I can't do that. And books! When I tell you how happy I am when I see a minority as the protagonist, I'm like YES LET'S GO I CAN RELATE TO YOU! And yes to this- what you look like or how you choose to dress should never hold you back!
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It's really lovely to hear that women in hijabs have competed in the Olympics. I think everyone in society should be able to see themselves in popular culture, so it's always fab to hear of instances of this. I recently heard of a book character with a similar health condition to mine and actually burst out crying as I'd never seen it impn anything before.
ReplyDeleteAmy xx
www.goldenbooksgirl.wordpress.com
YES! I completely agree - I feel like once people see themselves represented that's when there's the little voice in their mind telling them hey that could be me! I can do that! Yes! So happy you were able to relate to a character in a book! Most books have very same-y types of protagonists/characters so it's great see when authors go a different route!
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That is so cool that you got to meet Ibtihaj! I remember watching the olympics last year and hearing about her! It's really interesting to hear your perspective because in high school, I knew a girl who wore the hijab and played on the lacrosse team. So when hearing about Ibtihaj, I kind of thought, "why didn't this happen sooner?" It's always so nice to see wide representation of all people finally in the spotlight. I hope it continues!
ReplyDelete-GG
www.girlingamba.com
I literally still can't believe I met her - it was such a surreal moment! YAS lacrosse! That always looked like so much fun to play, haven't tried it out myself but definitely going to put it on my list of sports to try right after attempting snowboarding hahaha!
DeleteIt's been a long time coming, I too in the back of my mind was sort of like wait? It hasn't happened before? Thankfully Ibtihaj didn't let lack of representation hold her down and became the representation she was looking for :)
Thank you so much for reading!
Such a great post! Diversity is such a needed part in society now since it's important that all men and woman feel that they are being represented and that they have someone they can look up to or connect with. I'm glad you got to meet Ibtihaj!
ReplyDeleteacupofwonderland.wordpress.com
YES! It is so important for everyone to feel that they are represented - it really makes a difference because that opens their mind to doors they probably wouldn't have thought were open for them if they hadn't seen someone who looked like them.
DeleteThank you so much for reading!!