Ibtihaj Muhammad the first Muslim American woman to wear a “hijab” while
competing for the United States in the Olympics and actually wins a
medal.
So is she the first woman
wearing a “hijab” to win a medal in the history of the Olympics?
The first noticeable Olympic appearance for
women wearing a uniform meeting the Islamic standards widely –and mistakenly-
known as hijab was back in London Olympics 2012 when the American-born track
and field athlete Sarah Attar competed as one of the first two females representing
Saudi Arabia, the second one was the Judo Player Wojdan Ali. However, none of
them won a medal.
Rio Olympics 2016 marked a significant
participation of women wearing uniforms meeting the Islamic standards in
various games. The photo of the Egyptian beach volleyball player Doaa Elghobashy
versus her German competitor went viral reminding us how sports build bridges
between cultures. Women from Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and several
other countries enjoyed competing in their favorite games wearing a uniform
meeting the standards of their cultures and believe which is a significant
progress on many levels.
The Moroccan Nawal El Moutawakel is reported to
be the first female Muslim born
on the continent of Africa to
become an Olympic champion and win a medal in 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
However, she had not competed in a “hijab”.
So does that make Ibtihaj Muhammad
the first woman with a “hijab” and an Olympic medal?
Rio Olympics 2016 witnessed
awarding four women wearing uniforms meeting the Islamic standards
with medals the Egyptian Sara Ahmed in weightlifting, The American Ibtihaj
Muhammad in fencing, The Egyptian Hedaya Wahba in taekwondo and the Iranian
Kimia Alizadeh in taekwondo. Each one of them achieved historical success story.
The 18-year-old Sara Ahmed is reported to be
the first woman from an Arab country to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting.
Sara Ahmed won her bronze medal on the fifth day of Rio Olympics 2016, on Wednesday
10th of August 2016.
Ibtihaj Muhammad the first American woman to
compete in a uniform meeting the Islamic standards won her bronze medal on the
8th day of the Olympics which was the 13th of August
2016.
The Egyptian Hedaya Wahba and the Iranian Kimia
Alizadeh -who is the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal- both won
their bronze medals in women`s 57 kg taekwondo -and were awarded on the same
stage- on the 13th day of the Olympics which was the 18th
of August 2016.
Given that, it seems that the
Egyptian Sara Ahmed is the first woman in the history of the Olympics to
compete and win a medal wearing a uniform meeting the Islamic Standards.