This is cool- Muslim girls who wanted to play simply couldn’t because of their clothing, so the University of Minnesota and the girls designed their own:
When Muslims on the Cedar Riverside Community School girls’ basketball team in Minneapolis found their traditional clothing interfered with sports activities, they sought a solution.
With the help of students at University of Minnesota’s College of Design and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, the girls designed their own sports attire that met both religious and cultural standards.
Jennifer Weber, a coach at Cedar Riverside Community School, witnessed the girls struggling to handle their skirts or keep their hijabs intact while playing sports.
Kids, in the end, just want to be kids.
Lee
Good for them.
rikyrah
Glad they can play their sport.
trollhattan
Way O/T anyone else checked out today’s Doodle? Make your own Japanese monster movie! (It’s the least we can do, after Sunday’s Godzilla-scale stomping.)
Gotta go burn a steak out back. Ah, summer….
Pogonip
Have fun, kids!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Good for them, so sorry their religion treats women like shit.
schrodinger's cat
The modesty requirement for girls and women is just another unfair way to keep women in their place.
ETA: I have never understood the logic of making women cover themselves up in a black tent, a color that absorbs all radiation. So much more uncomfortable than the white the men wear.
schrodinger's cat
@CONGRATULATIONS!: Yes that too! Good for them.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodinger’s cat:
If it’s a requirement, then I do have an issue with it. If it’s an individual choice, it’s fine with me. The problem is, of course, that one can’t tell simply by looking at a veiled/hijabbed woman whether she is willing or coerced.
I agree with you about black and other dark heat-retaining colours. But then I always felt the same way about pre-Vatican II nuns.
schrodinger's cat
@SiubhanDuinne: Its not just Muslims though who expect modesty in dress from women, it is common to fundamentalists and orthodox of many religions.
ETA: One exception I can think of, Sikh men who never cut their hair.
PurpleGirl
I think the girls’ desire to play and participate in sports is great. That they found a way to dress to be both modest and able to play is great. If you do a little research around the net, you will find swimming outfits that do the same thing.
One thing I learned from a young Muslim woman I worked with is that dressing styles are unique to different cultures and tribes. For example, in Iran they wear the Chador — that head to foot black covering that also keeps your face behind a piece of black fabric . If you go to Morocco, women wear an overcoat and a dress or slacks/jeans below it, and their heads are covered by a Hajib. These garments can be any color, pattern, style (flowing or straight). They are often highly detailed with embroidery or sequins and sparkly stuff. Their faces are uncovered. Communities have evolved their clothing rules over time and many are now trying to update what is worn so that they can participate in modern life. The young woman in my office had an overcoat that was a dark gray pinstripe fabric. It looked very professional. I often teased her about seeing her blue jeans and sneakers.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
A lot of it depends on how flexible the parents are as well. If (as I once saw at a local mall), you let your daughter layer a loose short-sleeved t-shirt over a long-sleeved one, wear it with loose cargo pants, and wear a coordinating scarf over her hair, passersby (like me) will have to look several times to realize she’s even wearing hijab.
RSA
@PurpleGirl:
Like burquinis. The pictures make me laugh, because they remind me of 1960s science fiction movies showing how people of both sexes would dress in the future.
The melding of athletic wear and cultural restrictions is tricky, not to mention sometimes ridiculous.
PurpleGirl
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Also, we have our teenage girls who have Muslim friends and start to wear that combo of t-shirts and jeggins. and you might have trouble telling who is who, Muslim or not Muslim. In my neighborhood, it becoming more common. I agree that much depends on how strict the parents are or how open to a wider participation in the community.
@RSA: Agree, but we should support their desire to change and modernize clothing so they can participate in the wider community.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodinger’s cat:
Oh, quite. Sorry if I implied that I thought it was exclusive to Muslim practice. All you have to do is look at any family photos of the Duggars (or the Romneys, for that matter), or pre-Vatican II nuns, or Hasidic Jews, to see that it is widespread across many religious beliefs.
schrodinger's cat
@SiubhanDuinne:You don’t need to apologize, I was just trying to clarify my earlier comment.
RSA
@PurpleGirl:
Oh, definitely.