‘You can do almost anything’: Local author hoping to inspire hijabi girls in sport

World hijab day on Saturday aims to raise awareness about why Muslim women wear head coverings. Nahreman Issa reports.

An Edmonton author is hoping to inspire girls to pursue sports – regardless of religion.

Charlene Smith launched her debut book Game Changers: Stories of Hijabi Athletes from around the World at Audrey’s Books on Saturday.

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The non-fiction book follows 13 female athletes – from downhill bikers to beach volleyballers and martial artists – many of which were the first to compete in their sport while wearing hijab, a head scarf worn by some Muslim women to cover their hair.

Smith always enjoyed sports, but said she didn’t have much time for them after converting to Islam at 19 and getting married soon after.

However, they’re something she wants her daughter to be able to pursue freely without worries into adulthood.

“I don’t want to have this terrible choice when she’s a teenager and wants to wear hijab but wants to do her sport,” Smith explained.

“And I just hope parents don’t stop their kids from playing sports because of that, because there’s so many sports – I even found a ballerina who was a hijabi. You can do almost anything wearing hijab.”

The book launch coincided with World Hijab Day. The annual Feb. 1 holiday is aimed at educating and erasing the stigma around the head scarf and its significance in Muslim culture and religion.

Earlier in the week at MacEwan University, the Muslim Student’s Organization held a hijab try-on event and answered questions as part of Islamic Awareness Week.

“Every year with Islamic Awareness Week, we really prioritize to have one of those days to really promote women’s rights and hijab,” said organizer Amanni Chaaban.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions about hijab,” said Irba Shafqat. “A lot of people think it is forced, so that was one of the main things that they had when they came up to us and they were like, ‘What is hijab? What does hijab mean to you?’

“It was really meaningful conversations. People came in, they were very curious, very respectful. We put the hijabs on them. It was a very intimate and very heartwarming moment for me.”

For more information on World Hijab Day, visit the website.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa