In Nike’s latest market expansion, the top name brand turned to see what it could do in the Middle East. 2 days prior to International Women’s Day, Nike revealed it’s “Pro Hijab” specifically made for Muslim female athletes.
Muslim female athletes themselves have begun to rise in their sports in the past couple years. In the most recent summer games, Brunei, Qatar and Saudi Arabia became the last 3 last countries competing in the Olympics to send women. However, in the same year, Egypt’s team included 37 women, the highest number of women on the team since its start in 1912.
Nike’s ‘Pro Hijab’ is said to be in stores in Spring of 2018 and it will sell for $35. It is a pull-on hijab made of breathable, stretchy, light fabric and an elongated back so it doesn’t come untucked. It will come in gray, black and obsidian. During its development, Nike tested the product with Manal Rostom, runner and triathlete in Dubai, Zahra Lari, first figure skater from the United Arab Emirates to compete internationally and Amna Al Haddad, an Olympic weightlifter from the United Arab Emirates. Manal Rostom stated over WhatsApp that this new product was important to her because,
“There weren’t any hijabi athletes to look up to when I was growing up, and I had to be my own pioneer, and now girls today have women like Amna Al Haddad and Zahra Lari to look to as role models, which is so inspiring.”
Despite Nike’s valiant effort to be inclusive and make a statement for solidarity , there has still been controversy around the hijab because Nike wasn’t the first to make a sports hijab yet they are being praised as so. Smaller companies and small brands have been selling sports performance hijabs for a years with the most prominent brands being Capsters and ResportOn. Some complained of the signature Nike swoosh being so prominent on the hijab. However Nike’s response was that the swoosh was placed above the left ear to “highlight the hijab’s pinnace performance nature”.
Nike’s notion to highlight the intensity, tenacity and passion that veiled female Muslim athletes have moves mountains in an age of xenophobia. Nike stands as a figure of solidarity and support for the Muslim community using it’s powerhouse business platform. With the new hijab and the top brand for performance and athletic wear behind it, the push for inclusion is strong and headwear bans in sports will begin to further disseminate. The exciting new move of the Pro Hijab by Nike, arguably one of the most influential brands in the world, highlights diversity and inclusion in an era where xenophobia is becoming the new norm.
