Muslim Girls Design Sports Uniform
"I wouldn't be able to do moves or anything because of my skirt and every time I run my wrap will keep falling," Sihal Ali, a Muslim in Cedar-Riverside community basketball team, told USA Today.
Playing as a point guard in her team, Ali’s long skirt made scoring points difficult.
Their problems came to an end when University of Minnesota Design School and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport offered a helping hand to design a new sports uniform for the girls.
"The girls really want to be culturally and religiously appropriate and wear appropriate clothing, but the longer skirts could sometimes get in the way of physical activity," said Dr. Chelsey Thul, a lecturer at the U of M's School of Kinesiology who also does research for the Tucker Center.
The new uniform, in red color, features leggings, a long tunic and tighter hijab.
"I don't even have to focus about what I'm wearing. I just play the game," Ali said.
The United States is home to a Muslim minority of between six to eight million.
A US survey has also revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.
Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one's affiliations.
