Minnesota Muslim girls design sportswear for female Muslim athletes

Minnesota Muslim girls designed a uniform for female Muslim jocks — (Image credit: AP/YouTube)

In June, the Lady Warriors, an all-female community basketball team in Minneapolis, held a fashion show to show off their new uniforms. The players, young Muslim immigrants from Somalia and elsewhere in East Africa, helped craft their uniforms with University of Minnesota fashion designers and sports researchers, plus coaches and members of the community. The uniforms cover the girls' head, arms, and legs, solving a big problem for many female Muslim athletes.

Wearing a hijab or other religiously appropriate clothing gets in the way of dribbling a basketball, kicking a soccer ball, or swimming. Not covering up isn't an option for many Muslim girls, and the new uniforms — designed to be worn in all sports, even swimming — could help not just the teens and tweens in Minnesota but female Muslim athletes everywhere. You can see the uniforms in action in the Associated Press video below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.