Nike has unveiled its new Nike Pro Hijab line that will allow Muslim women to compete while keeping their heads covered.
Nike says it plans to launch the sports apparel line in the spring of 2018, according to the Washington Post.
The company said two female Olympians, Sarah Attar and Amna Al Haddad, inspired the line, which will launch in the spring of 2018. Attar is a runner from Saudi Arabia who wore a hijab when she competed in the London Olympics, and Haddad is an Emerati weightlifter who was at the Rio Olympics this past summer.
“We worked with Amna and a variety of other athletes to see what they needed and wanted in a performance hijab,” a Nike spokesperson told Al Arabiya English. “What we heard was that women were looking for a lightweight and breathable solution that would stay in place without concern of shifting.”
Zahra Lari, a figure skater from the United Arab Emirates, spoke out about being a proud Muslim professional athlete as part of a campaign with Nike.
“People may think or tell you that you can’t do certain things, but I’m going to show them you absolutely can,” Lari told Vogue Arabia, according to The Washington Post. “I am covered, I am Muslim, I am from a desert country, and I’m doing a winter sport.”
“There are a lot of ... women and girls who are breaking barriers,” Nike+ Run Club Coach Manal Rostom added, The Washington Post said. “For me growing up, though, I never had these women to look up to. I had to break these barriers for myself.”
Nike isn't the first to make hijab-friendly sportswear, but it's arguably the biggest company to do so.