Word: muslim
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...pious Muslim woman, one of the greatest challenges of modern life is how to get a good workout. In Iran, of course, the state mandates Islamic dress, so secular and faithful women alike must contend with religious codes that interfere with exercise. But the problem persists for Muslim women throughout the Islamic world and the West. It grabbed headlines this past week when a Paris swimming pool refused entry to a young Muslim woman wearing a "burqini," a swim garment resembling a diving suit. In France the incident falls into a wider political debate over how to reconcile the country...
...what is the faithful but health-conscious Muslim woman to do? There are many schools of thought addressing this practical problem, and often the answer boils down to comfort vs. one's attachment to a particular sport. I am a runner by nature, keenly attached to the mind-slowing demand of setting a pace and the sensation of my feet first thudding and then gliding over pavement. But my discomfort threshold is ridiculously low, and while living in Iran I gave up running in favor of hiking (in mountainous seclusion, no one frets if you tie a bandanna over your...
...Many Muslim women are more devoted to their favorite form of exercise. If they are runners, they must run; if they are swimmers, they must swim. For these women, there are only two answers: a clever outfit that breathes or sequestration in a same-sex exercise facility. The athletic veil, known as the hijood, is made from high-tech fabric that's meant to wick sweat off the skin. It debuted when the Bahraini sprinter Rogaya Al Ghasara wore it while competing at the 2008 Olympics. While it takes a certain steely piety to wear the hijood - its slick ninja...
...some Muslim women, though, gender-segregated exercise is the preferred option. When you've grown up in a culture where men and women relate prudishly, not even a Coolmax barrier of high-tech Lycra is going to put you at ease panting alongside men in a coed exercise class. Women-only gyms or gyms with women-only hours or rooms dot the whole of the Islamic world. Even in the U.S., the idea that women are more relaxed exercising without men's eyes on them has led to a preponderance of secular women-only chains like Curves and Linda Evans...
...fitness-minded faithful, the terrain varies dramatically from one country and region to another. But with some determination, it remains entirely possible for Muslim women - from the gently shy to the severely pious - to stay in shape while respecting their faith's modesty etiquette...