Muslim Boxer Zeina Nassar Aims for Olympic Glory After Hijab Rule Change

Since discovering women’s boxing as a teenager, Zeina Nassar has had to overcome obstacles, according to AFP. "It was as if I had to prove twice as many things, because not only am I a woman who boxes but I also wear the veil," confides the Berliner.

Speaking about the authorization to wear the veil in the boxing world, she is delighted that the conditions for qualification are now the same for everyone. "Only sports performance should count. We must not be reduced to our outward appearance," says the young athlete who, in training as in competition, wears a hijab, leggings and a top that covers her arms. For her who has faced so many difficulties, she is pleased with the qualitative change that is taking hold of the sector.

In Germany, the debate around the veil is calm and it is very widely accepted in the name of religious freedom. Zeina Nassar, who also speaks Arabic and regularly goes to Lebanon where her parents are from, has never thought of removing her hijab for boxing.

"Why should I have done that? For me, it was always clear that I would participate in fights with my veil." On the issue, the President of the International Women’s Rights League, Annie Sugier, said that even if the Boxing Federation, like most federations, has given in, the Olympic Charter has not changed and prohibits any political, religious or racial demonstration.

She also points out that the "modest fashion", which is booming, constitutes "a market of hundreds of billions of euros", coveted by many brands. Zeina Nassar is one of the muses of Nike, which has been marketing a competition hijab for nearly two years, and she sees herself as a role model for young Muslim women.