Muslim Women Face Challenges in Islam-Approved Work Out Wear

Many Western women, Muslim or not, wonder how how we work out and exercise effectively, while honoring modesty codes in Islam.

Today’s Time.com features an article How to Work Out While Muslim — and Female.

A woman in France surfs a website that sells burquinis, via Jean-Christophe VerhaegenWriter Azadeh Moaveni is long on philosophy and describing the challenge, and short on pragmatic advice for women wanting to exercise in Islamic-approved athletic clothing.

Moaveni introduces us to the “hijood”, made from a high-tech fabric that’s meant to wick sweat off the skin, and debuted when the Bahraini sprinter Rogaya Al Ghasara wore it while competing at the 2008 Olympics. While it takes a certain steely piety to wear the hijood — its slick ninja-esque style might be too assertively Muslim for some — the relative ease of sweating or swimming in something other than heavy cotton is pretty unbeatable.

Bahrain’s Roqaya Al-Gassra

We’re also reminded that the burquini — under fire in France this week — can be a welcome swimming garment, when boys and men are left behind.

Note from Anne: I didn’t understand until this moment that the burquini cannot be worn around men or a woman’s older son, or older boys generally.

Writing about the burquini the other day, I found it a modern solution to the modesty challenge for women wanting to swim.

I’m confused now, if there are Islam-approved athletic apparel that a Muslim woman athlete can wear in public, if she’s from Iran, for example. I will investigate.

Could the women from Bahrain wear the photographed athleticwear, because the Plympic race was a women’s race, even though men saw the video around the world?

Back to Time’s article. Bottom line, the author recommends separate facilities for men and women, in all countries.

Correctly, Azadeh Moaveni cites the fact that many women generally prefer to exercise apart from men. Heat exhaustion is a common problem for Muslim women trying to exercise in mixed-gender groups.

I recall controversy at Harvard University, when they attempted to respect the wishes of Muslim women, by instituting women-only access to the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center six hours a week.

Does anyone know if that case is in litigation? Or have the petitions of the Harvard Islamic Society and the Harvard Women’s Center been honored, and there’s no further action on this issue?  Anne

Women runners compete

Comments

[LamamelK]

As a western man, I don't look upon the athletes in the photograph (above) as sex objects. They are runners, skilled in their sport. I pity Muslim women who have to sacrifice their comfort, sport activities, basic identity (as in unique physical features they must hide) by being covered in cloth because of fear that Muslim men (or men in general) see them solely as sex objects. In Islam women are not respected... cloth is.