During the week of International Women’s Day, Nike revealed its new hijab line, created for muslim women who actively compete in sports or even just regular exercise. This is an amazing breakthrough for female muslim athletes who fight the oppression of society as they compete. “The ‘Nike Pro Hijab’ was inspired,” the company said, “by Sarah Attar, a runner from Saudi Arabia who competed in the London Olympics 800-meter race while wearing a hijab.”
“The line got a lot of negative attention at first,” said Attar according to BBC news. However, the company is now nothing but promising for the new line. There is a very weak market for the clothing of Muslim women athletes, and Nike has now taken over the platform. The hijab line is also drifit and made completely for the comfort and convenience of these athletes. The sporty new line is predicted go online for sales next year, just in time for the 2018 winter olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The line was introduced with multiple photographs of women sporting the hijabs in other athletic clothing. This is all in hopes that Nike can help normalize athletes that wear hijabs when they compete in today’s society. The garment comes with an elongated back so the tops do not become untucked during competition, and is the most comfortable fit for women going for the gold.
“Even on our own sports teams here at Pleasant Valley, we have athletes who compete in hijabs,” says Skylar Yutesler, a senior at Pleasant Valley High School. Yutesler adds, “I think that it’s really amazing that Nike could be multicultural and make products for athletes that have to dress a certain way to respect their religion. Nike has a huge influence on athletics, and this is a great move for women that just want to athletically succeed.”
