Nike to release sport hijabs for Muslim women athletes – Mashable

It’s been quite a week of inclusivity for Nike after the sporting brand released a plus-size clothing line for women, but it looks like things aren’t slowing down. 

Now it seems Nike is releasing Nike Pro Hijab for Muslim women athletes that will become available as soon as Spring 2018.

“The Nike Pro Hijab may have been more than a year in the making, but its impetus can be traced much further back, to an ongoing cultural shift that has seen more women than ever embracing sport,” a statement from Nike says, according to Al Arabiya English. “This movement first permeated international consciousness in 2012, when a hijabi runner took the global stage in London,” referring to Saudi Arabia’s Sarah Attar. 

Amna Al Haddad, an Emirati female Olympic weightlifting athlete, also inspired the creation of the sport hijab with her visit to the Nike’s Sport Research Lab. 

The product was teased last month in a recent Nike ad that featured women athletes from the Middle East, some who are wearing hijabs. 

Global Nike Spokeswoman Megan Saalfeld told Al Arabiya English that the product was “designed as a direct result of our athletes telling us they needed this product to perform better, and we hope that it will help athletes around the world do just that.”

Many of these athletes have turned to Twitter to express their excitement about the breathable mesh sport hijab. 

[H/T Al Arabiya]