Muslim Women are Taking Part in Aqua-aerobic and Swimming Events

All these year’s Muslim females have faced the problem of finding an appropriate swimwear which adheres to the Koran, which requires a woman to cover everything except her face, hands and feet.

The swimwears available in the market were either not targeted for the Muslim women as they led to show of skin or were unpractical for swimming. To aptly describe how uncomfortable the swimwear designed for Muslimahs was I shall quote Aheda Zanetti who wrote to the National Geographic News stating “As an active Muslim girl, I found it difficult to participate in most sports, because of all the excess clothes we were wearing. And the veil very unpractical when playing sports”.

For a market that was not targeted by big market share holders like Nike scattering small companies took the initiative of designing something fruitful for Muslimahs. People like Zanetti, Oliver Momeni and Hasema saw a great potential and design need in the market of swimwear for Muslimahs. Zanetti, is the owner of Ahiida, an Australian company that designs women’s sportswear. Oliver Momeni started his venture of Bodykini in 2007, based in Spain and Hasema a Turkish company started designing a line of swimwear for men, women and kids. Among all these products the most admired and reviewed is “Bodykini”.

Surely, Oliver had the support and opinions of his Iranian family members and an experience of over 20 years in the family textile business. Before designing the final product “Bodykini”, Oliver conducted a lot of market research and held talks with many Muslim women. In the course of his time, he learned the important attributes targeted while designing the swimsuit. He designed Bodykini which is a complete blend of a swimsuit that looks great, designed for modest comfort, adheres to Islam’s tradition and most importantly lets women swim without any fear.

It does so by removing all the excess fabric that the previous swimwear provided like the veil, pants and skirts. Oliver incorporated every thing into 2 main piece of clothing: a shirt with a hijood that serves as a close-fitting headpiece, which firmly lays on the head without slipping and a pant. The fabric used is a high quality water-repellent fabric that is not only highly Chlorine resistant but also provides protection from ultraviolet rays. The advantage of using a Polyester material is that it has low water absorbency, dries fast and ensures complete stretch in all directions leading to comfortable swimming or aqua-sport.

The Bodykini comes in two colors to choose from and two unique features. The first feature is the two elastic bands that are attached at the inside of the pants that get buttoned to the inside of the suit, which prevent the suit from floating in case the swimmer performs a feet first dive. The second feature is the small pocket with a zipper in the pants; ideal for keeping small items like keys or money.

So now, with products like Bodykini both the problems namely: meeting the Islamic traditional requirements and availability of a comfortable swimming garment for women, are solved. Bodykini is available online at bodykini. com. Along with this Bodykini has been launched in the Middle East and is available in Dubai at Al Boom Marine retail stores or at the Dubai Ladies Club.

Now, Islamic women can remain more active and enjoy the aqua sports with the power of Bodykini. The Bodykini modest swimwear is becoming popular among not just the Muslim population but also among all those women who love to cover their bodies and prevent the tans while enjoying the relaxing water.

Having said all this, Oliver Momeni is not just being thanked by all Muslim women for introducing such a wonderful product in the market but the big players are looking forward to promote products like Bodykini which is showing a very good grip on the swimwear market. Taylor, of Azizah Magazine, says that

“In another 15 years there’s going to be a sizable Muslim consumer market and lots of demand”.

I think we’re where the Hispanic market was 20 years ago, and today the Hispanic market is a big consumer market. ” Further more, Arun Jain, a marketing professor at the University of Buffalo in New York State, agrees and states that given the growth potential of the Muslim community in the United States, major sportswear manufacturers could be missing out on an opportunity to break into an emerging market. Moreover, more than just the Muslim women the modern world women comprising of Christian, Jews and others don’t feel the need to show off their bodies and strive to be modest.

Source: http://www.aerobics-cardio.wealthyboys.com/muslim-women-are-taking-part-in-aqua-aerobic-and-swimming-events/

Egyptian woman will make history at Youth Olympics

By MICHAEL CASEY (AP) –

SINGAPORE — When Jihan El Midany leads the Egyptian delegation into Saturday's opening ceremony of the inaugural Youth Olympics, it will be a historic moment for her country.

The 18-year-old pentathlete will become the first woman from Egypt to serve as a flag bearer at an Olympic event. And if she wins a medal as expected in the competition that includes swimming, shooting, fencing and running, she would be the first woman from her country to do so at an Olympic event.

El Midany said she hopes her prominent role will inspire girls across the Muslim world to take up sports.

"I'm hoping I can be a good role model," El Midany said Friday as she walked through the athletes' village. "I want to prove that the veil does not have to prevent girls from doing anything."

The Youth Olympics, which runs through Aug. 26, features about 3,600 competitors aged 14 to 18 from 204 countries competing in the same 26 sports on the current Summer Olympics program.

El Midany's success comes at a time when girls across the Muslim world are making historic progress in sports, starting soccer leagues and competing in boxing and wrestling. That would have been unheard of just a few years ago.

For the first time, Qatar is sending girls to an Olympic competition. And Iranians agreed to send a girls soccer team after reaching a compromise that allows them to wear hats rather than the banned head scarves.

Yet many girls still face insurmountable hurdles, from conservative societies that frown on sports to families that would rather keep their daughters at home. El Midan almost abandoned the pentathlon this year after the sports governing body required athletes to wear swimsuits that exposed the neck, shoulder and legs. It's less modest than the suit she wore that covered the entire body.

El Midany said she was "disappointed" by the ruling, but got the blessing of her family and sporting authorities to compete in Singapore. She admits feeling "uncomfortable" in the new suit, but knows the swimming event doesn't last long.

Sharif A. El-Erain, the vice president of the Egyptian Federation of Modern Pentathlon, acknowledges it is much harder to recruit girls than boys. He's hoping El Midany's success will bring the federation more attention, more money and more female athletes.

"For me, that is a dream," he said of an Egyptian woman winning a medal. "We came so close in the last Olympics, so if we can make it here, it would be great. It will get us more recognition."

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Aya Medany finished eighth in the pentathlon.

While El Midany was talking of making history, most athletes had their sights on more modest goals — winning medals, reaching personal bests and making friends. Many athletes spent Friday training and mingling with teammates at the sprawling village housed at a local university.

Some critics have derided the new event as little more than a summer camp with little support from local Singaporeans. But there was no indication that the athletes were taking the event lightly.

"This is the closest thing to the Olympics. It's the junior Olympics," said American Amber Bryant-Brock, a 16-year-old 400-meter hurdler. "This is big. I'm anxious and I'm ready to compete. It's scary because it's anybody's race."

Simone Meyer, a 17-year-old South African discus thrower, called the competition a "road to 2012," referring to the London Olympics. She's the top discus thrower in her country's age group.

"It will be a great experience," she said. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime. You will learn so much."

For Armando Moss of the Bahamas, competing in the first Youth Olympics will be satisfaction enough. The 18-year-old swimmer said he hopes to finish in the top eight in two events.

"This is the biggest meet of my life," Moss said. "I'm taking it seriously. It's an honor to be in the first Youth Olympics. My name will go down in history for being part of it."

Source: The Associated Press