The hijab is a woefully misunderstood garment.
While some Westerners see it as a sign of oppression, that ignores the fact that women have fought to be able to wear theirs in public. It’s a symbol of modesty that has been corrupted by religious fundamentalists and ignorant non-Muslims alike.
But at the end of the day, wearing a hijab in order to maintain their privacy or simply declare their faith is a choice many Muslim women do get to make for themselves. And they make it after much conscious consideration, knowing that they will be judged no matter what they decide.
The hijab has been a source of controversy in women’s sports as well.
When FIFA banned female soccer players from wearing the hijab while playing, it didn’t make them safer or less oppressed. It barred thousands of women from playing at all.
Why should someone have to choose between faith and sports?
When the organization couldn’t justify banning the hijab for religious reasons (after all, men can flash tattoos of whatever they want), they insisted it was for safety. But after finding no evidence to back that up after pressure from outside, they overturned the ban in 2016.
But just because women can wear hijabs again while playing soccer doesn’t mean they’re accepted by everyone. That’s what made a recent moment from the WAFF Women’s Soccer Championship in Jordan so special.
On the soccer pitch, there are rare moments when humanity matters more than anything else and it’s worth drawing attention to them. This was one.
The Arab Orthodox Club (AOC) was playing the Shabab al Ordon Club, the latter a mostly secular team. During the game, an AOC player felt her hijab begin to slip off her head. That meant she was going to have to stop and fix it. After all, if you’re going to wear one day in and day out, letting it fall off of your head while an audience is watching kind of defeats the purpose.
The opposing team could have taken that moment to exploit their opponent’s weakness. But they didn’t.
Instead of deciding that the game was the most important thing, they decided that the player as a human was. So the Shabab al Ordon Club stopped play when they saw her crouch down and shield her head.
Not only that, the women gathered around the player, shielding her from the audience and cameras while she adjusted the hijab.
It was an epic moment of respect, sportsmanship, and sisterhood.
The crowd applauded as each player came over to complete the circle around the woman, and millions more joined in when the video went viral online.
Of course, moments like these generally bring out the trolls who use the opportunity to spread hate towards women and Muslims. But those people are irrelevant.
The important part of the story is the love and emotion it elicited from people all over the world – Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, Westerners, Middle Easterners, sports fans, men, and women alike.
The Shabab al Ordon Club were the victors in the end – because women can be humane and kick butt at the same time – but they were also champions of compassion.
And THAT’S how you play the game.
Be sure to scroll down to see the moment everyone is talking about.
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