TIME magazine seems to think Nike invented the hijab

TIME magazine seems to think Nike invented the hijab
TIME has listed a sports hijab by Nike as one of the year's top 25 inventions, but Twitter users could not see how the $35 scarf was anything groundbreaking.
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The New Arab Staff

The New Arab

17 Nov, 2017
Time has listed the Nike Pro hijab among the best inventions of 2017 [Nike]
TIME magazine has been ridiculed online after listing a hijab by sports brand Nike as one of the best inventions of 2017.

"What is the invention here?", one Twitter user asked, bemused that the Islamic headscarf was considered an innovative concept.

In its list, which includes such trailblazers as a mug that heats your coffee to just the right temperature and elevators that move sideways, TIME says the Nike hijab "empowers" Muslim athletes.

"It's tough to play sports in a hijab," it said. "If the material is too heavy, it causes excess sweating. If it's too light, it might fall off during competition."

Nike's Pro Hijab, put into development after executives met with UAE weightlifter Amna Al Haddad in 2016, aims to shift that status quo, it said. "Unlike a traditional hijab, the Pro is made with light, breathable fabric that wicks moisture; athletes who have used it report that it helps manage sweat." 

It also carries symbolic weight, TIME said, quoting Manal Rostom, an Egyptian runner based in the UAE and the founder of the Surviving Hijab Facebook group, who said she felt "empowered by a big company". "I'm representing what a Muslim woman can be."

But social media users could not see how a a $35 headscarf was anything original.




Others also pointed out that several brands had the same "invention" years ahead of Nike.


And the TIME tweet was (inevitably) targeted by Islamophobes, with some accusing the sports brand of "normalising the oppression of women".


 
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