{"id":11001,"date":"2017-04-25T21:01:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/04\/25\/wearing-a-hijab-a-young-muslim-boxer-enters-the-ring\/"},"modified":"2017-04-25T21:01:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T21:01:00","slug":"wearing-a-hijab-a-young-muslim-boxer-enters-the-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wearing-a-hijab-a-young-muslim-boxer-enters-the-ring\/","title":{"rendered":"Wearing A Hijab, A Young Muslim Boxer Enters The Ring"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laurel Wamsley<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n 16-year-old Amaiya Zafar (left) spars in the Circle of Disclipline gym in Minneapolis earlier this month. USA Boxing has granted Zafar a religious exemption to fight in one bout while wearing hijab.<\/p>\n

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Sarah O’Keefe-Zafar<\/p>\n

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Sarah O’Keefe-Zafar<\/p>\n

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In November, young boxer Amaiya Zafar traveled from Minnesota to Florida to fight her first competitive bout.<\/p>\n

But before Zafar even had her gloves on, officials called off the fight \u2013 they told the 16-year-old she had to remove the hijab she wore or forfeit the match. A devout Muslim, Zafar refused, and her 15-year-old opponent was declared the victor.<\/p>\n

USA Boxing, the sport’s national governing body, has dictated<\/a> that athletes fight in sleeveless jerseys and shorts no longer than the knee. Zafar adds long sleeves, leggings, and a sporty hijab to the uniform.<\/p>\n

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The organization appears to be shifting its policy, and last week it granted Zafar a religious exemption to compete wearing the hijab so she can fight this weekend<\/a> in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

USA Boxing, in an email to NPR, says it is “in the process of amending our domestic competition rules specifically to accommodate the clothing and grooming mandates of our boxers’ religions. … USA Boxing will consider exemptions on an individual basis per USA Boxing’s policy for non-advancing domestic competitions.”<\/p>\n

This weekend will be Zafar’s first competitive match, three and a half years after she took up the sport.<\/p>\n

Her dad had suggested she might enjoy fencing. But Zafar had other ideas.<\/p>\n

“I would rather get punched in the face than have someone stick swords at me,” she told him.<\/p>\n

“Okay, then box,” he replied.<\/p>\n

At 13, she started working out in her garage, learning the punches, and studying fight videos. And once she set foot in a real boxing gym, she says, “I was like dang, that’s it. I’m in love.”<\/p>\n

But it’s hard to find girls her age and weight to box. And then there’s the uniform issue.<\/p>\n

USA Boxing had previously cited safety reasons in barring Zafar from wearing the hijab in competition. In 2015, Michael Martino, who was then the organization’s executive director, told Minnesota Public Radio<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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“There’s a safety issue involved. If you’re covering up arms, if you’re covering up legs, could there be preexisting injury? And then if someone got hurt during the event, the referee wouldn’t be able to see it.” …<\/p>\n

“We have 30,000 amateur boxers in the United States,” Martino said. “So if you make allowances for one religious group, what if another comes in and says we have a different type of uniform we have to wear? You have to draw a line some place.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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In this National Geographic video from January, Amaiya Zafar doesn’t pull any punches.<\/p>\n

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