Olympic Veil

Headcovering watchers have probably heard of, if not seen in action, the Muslim women participating in the Olympic Games wearing hijab. If not, check out "Hijab Style: Famous Faces" for this week.

Photo of Sarah Khoshjamal-Fekri, of Iran women’s national taekwondo team, from shirzanan.com)

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Amal Amireh writes in Arabisto.com, "Interview with a Muslim Woman Olympic Athlete", a reaction "pretend" interview, her response to coverage of the female athletes choice to cover their heads rather than coverage of their athletic abilities.

". . . when it comes to Muslim women who veil, the media seems to be interested only in one thing: the piece of fabric on the woman's head. They want to know if its weight slow down runners; if it blocks the view of archers; if it interferes with the concentration of weight lifters. And let's not forget the color. It must matter!
And they are surprised when they find out that what they're obsessing with is irrelevant. Still, they write the article about the veil, not the woman competing."

(Photo of Najmeh Abtin, archer from Iran, from Getty Images)

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"Aussie "burqini" designer creates athletic veil"
Mon Aug 18, 2008 from Reuters.com

"The Australian designer of the full-length swimwear for conservative Muslim women has created special headgear for athletes seeking to win glory without compromising their faith.

Bahrain's Olympic sprinter Rogaya Al Ghasara is set to become the first athlete to compete in the "hijood", a combination of the words "hijab" or veil and "hood", on Tuesday in Beijing.

Designed by Aheda Zanetti, managing director of Australian firm Ahiida, the hijood is breathable, fits snuggly like a hood and covers the hair and neck in accordance with Islamic custom."

(photo here of Rogaya Al Ghasara of Bahrain from Flickr.com)
*** notice - the address I have for this photo is: "http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/323303467_847bb0cf43_o.jpg" - I cannot find any other information - please pass photographer or agency on to me if you can document this photo.