US Muslim Female Weightlifter Wins Battle to Wear Hijab

Kulsoom Abdullah, left, trains at Crossfit gym in Atlanta, Ga. Abdullah’s Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and black belt in taekwondo are proof she doesn’t back away from challenges. Abdullah on Friday will become the first woman to compete in the national weightlifting championships while wearing clothing that covers her legs, arms and head, in keeping with her Muslim faith. (AP Photo/Joey Ivansco)The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has approved new guidelines to give female weightlifters the option of covering their arms and legs.

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The decision came after Muslim female weightlifter, Kulsoom Abdullah, established a historic victory to convince the International Weightlifting Federation to change it’s dress code.

Thirty-five-year-old Abdullah of Atlanta, who holds a PhD in computer engineering, has waged a personal crusade with both the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Weighlifting to push reform of the uniform law, the Daily Mail reports.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) had urged the IWF to make the change during a meeting in Malaysia earlier this week.

Abdullah would now be able to compete wearing her traditional attire.

“I’m really happy that it happened. I’m really thankful for the support that was out there in the public. The one advantage to all of this is that it raised a lot of awareness. I hope the changes will help with other sports that other Muslim women participate in,” the paper quoted her, as saying.

“I think it would just be nice that in any sport, if there’s a lady who covers her arms and legs – they could still be involved,” Abdullah added.

IWF President Tamas Ajan said that this rule modification has been considered in the spirit of “fairness, equality and inclusion.”

Abdullah has now said that she will begin training and will register for an upcoming Iowa weightlifting competition she thought she would not be able to enter. (ANI) .

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