Seeing an underserved market in the growing number of Muslim women who work out and compete in sports, Nike plans to launch a specially-designed hijab in spring 2018.
The “Nike Pro Hajib” was inspired, the company says, by Sarah Attar, a runner from Saudi Arabia who competed in the London Olympics 800-metre race while wearing a hijab, and by Amna Al Haddad, an Emerati weightlifter who competed in the Rio Olympics last summer.
“We worked with Amna and a variety of other athletes to see what they needed and wanted in a performance hijab,” a spokesperson told Al Arabiya English. “What we heard was that women were looking for a lightweight and breathable solution that would stay in place without concern of shifting.”
In addition to covering Muslim athletes, the garments feature an elongated back so that the tops do not become untucked during competition.
“People may think or tell you that you can’t do certain things, but I’m going to show them you absolutely can,” Zahra Lari, a figure skater from the United Arab Emirates who is part of Nike’s ad campaign, told Vogue Arabia. “I am covered, I am Muslim, I am from a desert country, and I’m doing a winter sport.”
