Student College Story / Incident Details

Sprinter in Hijab Wins Gold

The 15th Asian Games concluded in Doha, Qatar on 15th December, 2006. The games are held once in four years like the Olympics. It is the first time the games were held in an Arab state and for the second time in the Middle East (held in Iran in 1974). More than 10,000 athletes from 45 countries competed in 39 sports, including athletes from 11 Arab states as well as the Palestinian Authority. The next games are scheduled to be held in China during 12-27 November 2010. The gold winning sprinter in hijab, deserves a special mention. The young Bahraini sprinter, Ruqaya Al-Ghasara made history for Muslim women athletes after winning a well-deserved gold medal at the Asian Games on December 11, proving that hijab was no obstacle to excellence. She completed the 200m in a record time of 23.19sec. Ruqaya earlier won bronze in the 100m. This is the first time in the history of the Asian games that a Muslim woman in a full tracksuit and a hijab has won a track gold medal and that too in the draining 200m sprint. Ruqaya is a devout Muslim and immediately went down on her knees after crossing the finishing line. She said, I am very thankful for being a Muslim; it is a blessing. I have a great desire to show that there are no problems with wearing these clothes. Wearing conservative clothes has encouraged me. Wearing a veil proves that Muslim women face no obstacles and encourages them to participate in sport. This is a glory to all Muslim women. I advise all Muslim girls to do sport, athletics. It s very good for your health and country . Ruqaya started sprinting at the age of 19 which is considered very old as most athletes start much younger. It is her first experience in the Asian games. It is to be recalled that she won a trio of silver medals in the 60m, 200m, and 400m at the inaugural Asian Indoor Championships in Tehran in 2004, and a sprint double at the Pan-Arab Championships in Amman, Jordan a year earlier.