Muslim Weightlifter wins Hijab right
News Article from Equality In Sport a monthly e-newsletter from VAGA Associates, August 2011. (contact roger@vagaassociates.com)
An American Muslim woman, Kulsoom Abdullah, who wanted to participate in weightlifting tournaments in the United States, was informed by USA Weightlifting that those events are governed by the sport’s world governing body, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) rules, which precluded her dressing in keeping with her beliefs. Abdullah, who holds a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, is not an Olympic athlete, but enjoys lifting weights. She generally wears loose, long pants past the ankles, a long-sleeve, fitted shirt with a loose T-shirt over it, and a hijab covering her hair. The outfits, officially called "costumes", worn at competitions must be collarless and must not cover the elbows or knees, according to the IWF's technical and competition rules.
However, IWF has now modified its rules to accommodate her Muslim beliefs and, under the new modification, Abdullah will be allowed to make her dream come true and compete in American and international weightlifting tournaments. Tamas Ajan, IWF president, said in a statement: "Weightlifting is an Olympic Sport open for all athletes to participate without discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, age, or national origin in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter and values. This rule modification has been considered in the spirit of fairness, equality and inclusion."
Abdullah hailed the decision as a great victory, hoping it will increase Muslim women participation in sports. She said: “I am hopeful for more participation in sports for women. I have a positive outlook on getting costume details finalized for Olympics Lifting competitions. Additionally, I hope other sporting organizations will follow this example to allow greater inclusion and participation in their respective sport.”
Abdullah cited the recent ruling by FIFA that the Islamic dress of the Iranian women football team broke its rules, which ban the manifestation of religious symbols. The FIFA ruling dashed dreams of young Iranian women to play in the 2012 Olympics.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which raised Abdullah’s case to the US Olympic Committee, applauded the IWF’s ruling to modify its policy on competitor apparel to allow modest Islamic attire. A day after the IWF decision, Abdullah filed to compete in the national weightlifting championships, “We welcome her participation in our most prestigious domestic event,” USA Weightlifting CEO John Duff said.
