Even more than personal comfort and performance, Abdul-Qaadir has high hopes for what this line can do for Muslim women athletes. "Being a Muslim woman is hard in itself, and then when you add in the athlete aspect, you are usually one of one," she said. In her case, the reasoning behind FIBA's head covering ban was that it impeded a player's safety. At the time, Abdul-Qaadir said she resorted to using "makeshift pieces of material" she scrounged up from her closet to cover her head. "If there was actually a sport hijab back at that point, then maybe things would've been different," she said. "These organisations and these governing bodies that I was going against had nothing to base 'safety' off of."
"When we work out and when we engage in sports, we're oftentimes makeshifting a scarf into something that will work for us," Elturk agreed. "It's a poor experience and it hinders your performance. For so many years, there were women who were compromising and wishing that there was a product out there that allowed them to actually excel and that would enhance their performance rather than bringing them down."
Elturk is looking to provide that product and inspire that strength, while pushing for visibility and acceptance of Muslim women athletes. "I want them to see, acknowledge, and validate Muslim women in sport. I want to break that barrier," she said.
"I want Muslim girls to know that they're strong and that they're able," Abdul-Qaadir added, "and to go ahead and take that chance and take that opportunity [to play sports] because you don't know whose mind or whose heart you can change about what we represent."
Check out more of the Haute Hijab sports collection ahead.
Image Source: James Farrell / Ford