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Canadian designs hijab for soccer players
International soccer's governing body will consider a prototype of a sports hijab designed by an Iranian-Canadian.The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), banned the hijab in 2007. Rule 4 of FIFA's rules states that a player's equipment "must not have any political religious or personal statements." Last month, however, FIFA announced that it will allow women to wear specially designed sport hijabs. The final decision on the new headwear is expected in summer. Elham Seyed Javad, 28, owner of Montreal-based IQO Design, said that she didn't think twice about submitting her proposal to FIFA after it reversed its decision. She said, "Not even nine hours after my letter was received, the director general of FIFA's board called me." If chosen, Javad said the financial gain could be "enormous" as Muslim women around the world could be wearing her design. She said FIFA is expecting her prototype in a few weeks. This is the second time Javad has designed a sporty hijab. In 2008, she created ResportOn, a hijab for female martial arts athletes. The garment looks like a tank top attached to a balaclava. She said the Australian federal police bought one of her hijabs for its first female Muslim recruit. The Iranian government is considering one of her designs for all of its female athletes for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, as well. Javad said, "The hijab is often associated in the media with a loss of power for women. However, I think that people understand that in this case, it's more of a form of freedom for Muslim women who want to play sports." Posted by: ryuge 2012-04-08 |
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