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sports for women
widad
10/20/00 at 23:01:40
For Sunday's Race, She's Got It Covered By Elissa Leibowitz The Washington Post Thursday, October 19, 2000 In the middle of the summer, with the heat bearing down on the sun-baked, dusty gravel path along the C&O Canal in Georgetown, 20-year-old Layla El-Wafi ran with as much ease as her marathon training partners. No matter that she was wearing long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and a black head scarf. Her athletic attire may not seem appropriate for a sweltering summer day in Washington--or even for Sunday's Marine Corps Marathon, which she is planning to run. But El-Wafi, 20, is Muslim. She practices the tradition of hijab, which among its tenets encourages women to maintain modesty in dress. Keeping the arms, legs, hair and neck covered is standard practice, regardless of the activity. So when El-Wafi, a junior at George Washington University, decided to train for the Marine Corps Marathon through the AIDS Marathon Training Program, continuing the practice of hijab--in her case, wearing cotton pants and a long-sleeved CoolMax shirt and a black cotton head scarf--did not receive a second thought. "The concept of hijab is not only a dress code but a whole concept of modesty--covering up what's private," El-Wafi said. "I consider my hair to be private, shown only within my family. A lot of people think it's an oppressed thing, but my life is just the opposite." Women in Muslim nations often are not encouraged to participate in athletics. In general, they are discouraged from interacting with strangers and from wearing clothing that is considered immodest; sports, which more often than not involve both, are therefore dissuaded. During the Summer Olympics in Sydney, for example, Iranian television refused to broadcast a close-up shot of Australian Cathy Freeman lighting the Olympic flame, because her form-fitting white body suit was considered too revealing. No women's events were aired, according to the Wall Street Journal, including the performance of Iran's sole female athlete, pistol shooter Manijeh Kazemi, who wore a head scarf and robe. "Usually women are not encouraged to exercise, or even to just go for a walk," said Mona Moursi, El-Wafi's mother, who grew up in Cairo before moving to the United States 28 years ago. "Some women also think that they're already married and have children, so there's no reason to be fit." Although it may be more common for Muslim women to participate in athletics in the United States, where El-Wafi was born, it's not as prevalent to find women wearing the head scarf--which also is called a hijab--while they are involved in sports. Moursi works out and runs on a regular basis but does not wear a hijab. El-Wafi's friend and frequent running partner, Sadia Ashgar, 20, is also Muslim but chooses not to wear a scarf on a regular basis. She does wear long sleeves and pants, but instead of a head scarf, she often tucks her hair in a baseball cap. "I feel uncomfortable, as if the world is judging me on a different scale," Ashgar said. "It's been completely different for Layla, though, because she's inculcated it into her life. I can definitely say that Layla is a stronger person when it comes to that, not that my faith is less." El-Wafi's parents encouraged her and her brother and sister to be active in sports from a young age. The children even took swimming lessons when they were young, wearing regular bathing suits. Hijab is important when girls reach womanhood, so swimming is more acceptable for children than adults. Still, swimming and other sports taught the children early on to take care of themselves. "We're told that our bodies are trust-given from God. We're trusted with an able body, and physical fitness definitely falls under that," El-Wafi explained. Certainly, El-Wafi's dress has attracted attention. Initially, some of the program organizers were worried by clothing they considered too warm for running in the summer, according to Doug Ward, an AIDS Marathon program representative. Other runners also kept an eye on her to make sure she was all right. "I would look at her to see what kind of condition she was in, because they really stress to us to pay attention to your team," said Spencer Abruzzese, 30, an online sales representative training in the program. "She always looked fine. Other people seemed to be in worse shape." Other runners were intrigued by her outfit and conviction. "One of my thoughts as the days kept getting hotter was that I found it hard to believe that someone would wear so many clothes while running, even if it was her religion," said Tim Kanaley, 30, a sales support engineer. Still, El-Wafi has faith in her running abilities and faith that she will finish the marathon. "At mile 16 when my feet are killing and I want to stop, in my head I call out to God. 'Please, God, get me through this,' " she said. "There are moments of feeling extremely blessed to participate in something like this." Marine Corps Marathon * When: 8:30 a.m. Sunday. * Entries: 24,588. * Start-finish: Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima) in Arlington. * Friday's paper: Special 25th anniversary section. © 2000 The Washington Post Company
NS

Re: sports for women
widad
10/20/00 at 23:10:41
assalam alykum warahamatullahi wabarakatu *I received the previous letter from a muslimas newsletter and this was my answer to it: "It is very strange that you seem to be circulating this as if it is something good. It is good for her own sake to stay covered and wearing long sleeves and pants,but the idea of running in front of all those people. Come on people who are you kidding??? Allah asks women to be modest and not to show their beauty,when this woman runs doesn't her body show?I mean the curves of her thighs and the rest of her body??? This is so unislamic and when you circulate this letter it is as if you are applauding her for making a general spectacle of her self and of being in the headlights. Muslim women are supposed to be modest,remember the daughters of the old man in surat Al-Qassass??When they stayed far away until the shepherds finished from the well, and then Moses came and asked what was wrong and they said we wait until the men finished,then afterwards one of them came to him BASHFULLY.....???
NS
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