Sportswear giant Nike launches sports hijab for Muslim athletes
By Dev Trehan
Last Updated: 08/03/17 3:08pm
Sportswear giant Nike has launched its first sports hijab aimed at Muslim athletes.
The Nike Pro Hijab - designed in response to calls from Muslim females for more comfortable performance headwear - could be available as early as next year.
Saudi Arabian runner Sarah Attar wore a hijab in the women's 800m at the London 2012 Olympics and Nike pointed to the US-born athlete's appearance at the Games as a pivotal moment in their development of the sports hijab.
"The Nike Pro Hijab has been a year in the making, but its impetus can be traced much further back to Nike's founding mission, to serve athletes, with the signature addendum: If you have a body, you're an athlete," Nike said in a statement.
"This movement first permeated international consciousness in 2012, when a hijabi runner took the global stage in London."
Figure skater Zahra Lari - the first international skater from the United Arab Emirates - is one of a number of athletes who have tested the product made from a single layer of thin polyester.
"I was thrilled and a bit emotional to see Nike prototyping a hijab," she said
"I've tried so many different hijabs for performance and so few of them actually work for me. But once I put it on and took it for a spin on the ice, I was blown away by the fit and the light weight."
