Netherlands’ Muslim athlete Sifan Hassan earned global acclaim after receiving her gold medal at the final 2024 Paris Olympic Games ceremony on Sunday, August 11, while wearing a hijab, in a defiant message again France’s controversial hijab ban.

Sifan delivered an incredible burst in the final 250 meters of the women’s marathon, clinching gold with an Olympic record time of 2:22:55.

The Dutch runner had already picked up two bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m races at this Olympics.

The 31-year-old became the first athlete to medal in all three of the long-distance events at the same Olympic Games since Czech Emil Zatopek in 1952.

In previous Olympics, the men’s marathon has taken place on the final day with the medalists being presented on the podium at the closing ceremony. Paris was the first Olympics to boast gender parity, and the women’s race was run on the final day meaning the women were presented with their medals at the closing ceremony instead.

While receiving her gold medal in front of fellow athletes and a packed crowd at the Stade de France, Hassan wore a maroon-colored hijab.

The image of her stood on top of the podium struck a chord with fans after the host country controversially banned its own athletes from wearing head coverings at the Olympics.

Social Media Reactions

Viewers took to X to praise Hassan with one user saying: “Sifan Hassan wearing her hijab to her gold medal crowning ceremony for the women’s marathon, after France banned females from wearing hijabs at the 2024 games. She is so powerful. What a woman!”

Another said: “Congrats to Hassan! Love seeing the image of her wearing hijab in the host country that banned its own athletes from wearing it.”

A third user claimed it was an ‘unforgettable moment for her and the entire world’.

Similarly, Instagram users praised her, with one commenting: “The last medalist of Paris 2024 is a woman who chooses to wear hijab. The irony of that being in a host country that bans hijab in sport is incredible.”

A person wrote: “How ironic! A slap in the face of xenophobic France, which prevented its own athletes from participating because of their hijabs. And there stands Sifan proudly receiving her gold medal while wearing her hijab. FANTASTIC!”

“SUCH A STATEMENT WEARING HIJAB THANK YOU SISTER,” a netizen added.

Last September, French Minister of Sports Amelia Oudea-Castera announced athletes representing France would not be allowed to wear the hijab.

Last September, French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera announced that athletes representing France at the Paris Games would not be allowed to wear the hijab in line with the country’s secularism principle and rules against displaying religious symbols at sporting events.

The rule was swiftly met with a strong wave of backlash, as The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation argued: “This ban contradicts the principles of equality, inclusivity, and respect for cultural diversity that the Olympics stand for.”

Amnesty International labeled the Hijab ban as “discriminatory” and “hypocritical,” a week before the Games commenced, and wrote: “French authorities made it emphatically and unashamedly clear… that their proclaimed efforts at improving gender equality and inclusivity in sports do not apply to one group of women and girls – those Muslim women and girls who wear religious head coverings.”

The human rights organization reportedly highlighted how banning the hijab was particularly jarring considering the 2024 Olympics was labeled as the first gender-equal Olympics – yet Muslim women were being discriminated against and singled out.

Source: MSN

Before getting into the ring, Rahimi has her arms and legs covered, wearing a full-length hijab under her protective headgear. Asked whether it was comfortable or not, she said, “Oh god, it’s extremely hot. In the Solomon Islands, the humidity was insane. As soon as I put the head cover on, I was dripping sweat. But, like with fasting and training, I adjust.”

The holy month of Ramadan, during which time the Muslim faithful abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset, coincided with this year’s IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in India.

“I had to get my running in before sunrise in order to keep up my training and water levels,” Rahimi said.

She added, “I could only do one session a day. I felt very fatigued, drained. But it’s part of my religion and so it’s important to me.”

Rahimi’s achievements are not limited to qualifying to the Olympics. She was also the first female Australian Muslim boxer to compete at a Commonwealth Games when she won a bronze medal in the featherweight division (57 kilograms) in Birmingham in 2022.

She also won gold at the recent Pacific Games in Honiara, in the Solomon Islands, where she was the unanimous choice of all five judges in the final.

From running to boxing and football, the rise of inspirational Muslim women in sport is in full swing.

Last year, England’s first hijabi boxing coach Haseebah Abdullah was recognized as a Birmingham “Hometown Hero”.

Rahimi is not the only hijabi boxer. Many female Muslim boxers joined the sport after the International Boxing Association (AIBA) amended its rules in 2019. The new rules allow Muslim boxers to wear a hijab and cover full body in the ring.

Source: WAtoday

The dream is getting closer to reality, thanks to the scholarships she received from Women in Aviation International, alongside other students from the Fanshawe College Norton Wolf School of Aviation and Aerospace Technology.

As a hijabi Muslim, Ayyaz had to break many false taboos to pursue her career ambitions.

In a country where male pilots outnumber female pilots 12 to one, according to the latest statistics from Transport Canada, Ayyaz hopes to inspire more women to pursue a career in aviation.

“This is like a dream for me. It’s my passion and I believe that women should be able to do anything that they put their mind to, especially if it’s in aviation. There should be more women being pilots,” she said.

Source: Wisconsin Muslim Journal