Jumana Abdul-Malik wanted to play ball--and wasn't about to let standards of modesty required by her Islamic faith stop her. At basketball tryouts for the Westridge School for Girls in Pasadena, the 15-year-old wore a secure head covering over her hair. She donned a long-sleeved top and long pants under her basketball jersey and shorts.
She made the team after her coach consulted the rule book and found nothing prohibiting such attire. But in her debut season two years ago, she says, the referee took one look at her and thumbed her out. He ultimately relented after entreaties from her coach and teammates--and a note from her parents explaining that such dress was required by her religion.
Now Jumana is a starting center on her team, a role model for Muslim girls and a coach at what may be the only Muslim girls sports camp in the nation. The two-week camp, which ended Friday at Westridge, aims to build athletic skills, boost self-confidence and arrest what organizers say is a tendency for Muslim girls to drop out of sports once they reach adolescence.
Despite growing "girl power" in sports, thanks to new sports heroines and anti-discrimination laws, a 1996 surgeon general's report found that girls were twice as likely to be inactive as boys. According to the Journal of Sports Psychology, girls drop out of sports at a rate six times higher than boys. Among the reasons for the discrepancy, experts list still-unequal sports opportunities and still-lingering stereotypes that sports are somehow unfeminine.
Religiously observant Muslim girls face the added challenge of requirements for modest dress--which eliminate public appearances in swimsuits, shorts, visible sports bras and tank tops. Once girls reach puberty, many choose to cover their hair, legs and arms; the most conservative families insist that the clothing be baggy enough to obscure the figure.
Enter Semeen Issa, the Muslim Women's League and their dream to show girls they can successfully practice both Islam and sports.
'You Can Do Whatever You Want'
"One basic thing we try to get across here is that you can do whatever you want," said Issa, the vivacious camp director and lifelong athlete who is leading the program's third year. "Just because you wear a scarf, long sleeves and long pants, don't let it stop you."
