Sportswear giant Nike is launching a high-performance hijab for Muslim women athletes. The Nike Pro Hijab would be available in stores in spring 2018.
The new hijab is said to be made of a breathable, lightweight, sport-ready fabric that would keep the athlete cool and dry. The elastic binding allows the wearer to adjust the hijab to her head as per her sport. The company has also made the back of the hijab long so that it won't come untucked during sport.
"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," Nike said in a statement.
"This movement first permeated international consciousness in 2012, when a hijabi runner took the global stage in London," the company added.
Nike reportedly planned the line after Emirati weightlifting Olympian Amna Al Haddad talked about the issues with her existing athletic hijabs.
Nike said its goal was to create a lightweight hijab that was inconspicuous, almost like a second skin. Select Muslim women use the design in the Persian Gulf region's competitive sports scene.
According to the company, a recent video campaign that featured female Middle Eastern athletes entitled "What will they say about you?" was a precursor for the launch of the new line.
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