In this blog I'm going to discuss the disqualification of athlete Noor Abukaram when her hijab was considered a uniform violation.
Wearing a hijab or any religious wear shouldn't be grounds for disqualification and exceptions should be made to prevent such controversies in the future. Current sports uniforms conform to western standards and don’t account for the conservative nature of some cultures. Considering religious wear to be a uniform violation is a form of underhanded racism by making someone choose between their culture and doing something they enjoy. Though I understand a uniform helps identify a team, this doesn’t mean that everyone must wear the exact same thing. This is the purpose of having a jersey or t-shirt but wearing the same thing beyond that is redundant.
Noor's Race Incident
In the situation of Noor Abukaram, the rules of the race doesn’t prohibit religious wear but also makes it difficult for people to wear it, having to register what they’re wearing outside of the uniform. This is similar to the situation of black people during the Civil Rights Movement as although they were technically granted equal rights to everyone else, it was still difficult for them to make use of these rights. For example when Rosaleen in The Secret Life of Bees intends to vote, she is unable when a group of three white men stop her because she is black. This puts them in a difficult situation where they are unable to do anything as the people who prevent them often have more power in terms of social hierarchy, similar to Abukaram’s situation where the person with more power has it because of their position as an official.
This had relevance to the social justice themes discussed within my current English course as in order to form an opinion on the situation, you must determine what is fair. From the perspective of the race official, fair meant that everyone must wear the same thing while in the perspective of Abukaram, fair meant that everyone had the freedom to choose what they wore (within appropriate grounds), especially if the wardrobe choices were for religious reasons.
Islamophobia in London, Ontario
Though an attempt is being made, I don’t think that there has been enough to combat Islamophobia and hate in society. We can’t hope to get anywhere when Islamophobia isn’t punished because “nothing happened” and only punish serious acts as it lets people think that they are able to get away with it. It is also essential to provide more education to prevent ignorant comments and make it easier to identify hate from ignorance.
What are your thoughts on the situation with Noor Abukaram, so you think the official was in the right? I'm open to any different opinions so let me hear them!
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