Finding modest clothing for sports and physical activity can often be a barrier to participation, with modest clothing for sports often costing significantly more than conventional clothing. In addition to this, there are also rules and regulations in place that prohibit modest clothing in certain sports. This has been demonstrated on a broader scale in the Olympics, which this year have been held in France, a country that has banned the hijab and other “ostensible religious symbols” in sports competitions since January 2022.
At Sporting Equals, we believe that this is not in keeping with the values of diversity, tolerance, and inclusion that we stand for, and aim to make sports as inclusive for ethnically diverse communities as possible. That is why we have worked in partnership with Sweaty Betty to design Sports Hijabs.
The Sweaty Betty Sports Hijab was designed by girls for girls initially with a group of 7 girls, predominantly in the Leeds area and Sporting Equals LeaderBoard Alumni, Lipa Nessa. Lipa trailed the hijab to wear on a day-to-day basis while going on runs and during her coaching sessions which she carries out at the weekend for children’s football. Following Lipa’s trial the hijab design was altered slightly, changing the length and the cap fit ahead of second round trials.
In the second phase of the trials, Sporting Equals was given 100 hijabs for girls across our Girls Powered Programme in Greater Manchester to use and trial. The girls came from several of our Associate Members including Al-Hilal, Krimmz Girls Youth Club, Caring and Sharing, Oldham Boxing, and Youth Shine. From the girls given the Hijabs, there was a focus group of 10 girls taken forward who answered questions around the hijabs. Key findings from the focus group are as follows; the girls found the hijabs comfortable and light when wearing, the hijabs stayed in place while playing sports, and 100% of the girls liked the fabric.
Additional feedback was around the confidence that modest clothing gave the girls helping to break down barriers to participation. “I wish there was other Islamic clothing to make it easier for girls.” “I feel confident that this product has been made for the modern Muslim women taking part in sport.” We are pleased to see that the hijab is now available for purchase on the Sweaty Betty website https://www.sweatybetty.com/sweaty-betty-foundation-hijab-SB9984_Black.html
In time we hope that there are more modest sports clothing brands to help eliminate barriers to participation and breakdown barriers for ethnically diverse communities. For more information on the Sweaty Betty Foundation please visit https://www.sweatybettyfoundation.org/our-work/
