The story of the pioneering UAE weightlifter who helped develop the Nike Pro Hijab

Amna Al-Haddad won six gold and three silver medals at the 2015 IWF Asian Interclub Championships in Jordan. (Nike)

LONDON: Amna Al-Haddad recently took up motivational speaking to help Arabian women follow their sporting dreams.
She is able to talk from a position of strength as she has been there, done it and got the T-shirt.
In 2012, she quit her job as a journalist to become a full-time athlete, and not just any athlete but a weightlifter. What had started out as a way to lose a little weight and gain a more positive mental well-being became a passion and then a career.
She didn’t know much about weightlifting. Nobody in the country did. As recently as 2000, the UAE did not allow women to be weightlifters. Eight years later, it was given its own federation, separated from bodybuilding and was seen as a sport in its own right, though still one for men.
“People are afraid of what is new,” Al-Haddad told Arab News. “There are very specific paths set out for women in this region but I wanted to show there are other things to do. I have never followed the traditional path. I have always been a black sheep, always been a little different.”
The fact that in 2012, there were just a dozen female weightlifters in the entire country appealed to her sense of adventure. Starting out lifting small weights, she discovered a natural talent. “I was quite strong and I enjoyed it,” she said.
“The gym I used was a mixed gym and I got a lot of support from the men. It was rare to see Emirati girls in the gym at the time but after they saw me working hard and doing pull-ups, I think they respected me and they used to tell me if I was doing something wrong and help me fix it.”
It worked. Four years later she was competing in the sub-69kg class in Uzbekistan in qualification for the Asian Championships, lifting 60kg in the Clean and Jerk, where the weight is rested with the lifter in a crouching position before being lifted above the head.
Friends and family were finally convinced after initial skepticism. “It was shocking for them at first. They were worried about me quitting my job and wondering how I could make a living. They thought, like many do, that it was a manly sport and they were not sure they wanted to see me doing it.”
She stuck at it.
“After seeing me grow and the impact it had on my personality, they could see that sport is for everyone. It is not about masculine or feminine. It is just sport.”
Over time she began to earn the respect of her peers, helped by winning six gold and three silver medals at the 2015 IWF Asian Interclub Championships in Jordan. “It was great to compete but people only see the success, they don’t see the pain and sacrifice behind the scenes.”
In 2016, during training for Olympic qualification, she woke up one morning with a slipped disc, something she puts down to not having the right support and rehab in her early career. Dreams of Rio 2016 were over.
“I think I would have had a big chance of going to the Olympics but I don’t like to think of ‘what if’.” Instead she threw herself into the next project and this was even more controversial.
She was approached by sportswear giant Nike. “Nike invited me to share my experience with clothes for Arabian female athletes and how it can be done better. We discussed how to create a more functional, light hijab and then the Nike Pro Hijab was born. I am proud to be part of a historic product.”
Reaction last December when it was released was mixed, especially on social media. A hashtag #boycottnike gained traction on Twitter, with some feeling that the product was cashing in on the oppression of women.
Others were delighted to see an international sporting behemoth get serious about appealing to young Muslim women and helping them to perform the sport they love. In September 2017 the hijab won the General Excellence category in the Innovation by Design Awards run by Fast Company magazine.
It provided vindication. “There was pushback but I don’t focus on these things,” she said.
She sees the product as a symbol of inclusion rather than oppression. “Now many Muslim women have an option that allows them to do sports more freely and easily. That can only be a good thing, I think.”
Al-Haddad has since put down the dumbbells. She wants to continue helping women in the Middle East through motivational speaking. “There is a big gap in our region between community, brand and athlete,” she said. “Female athletes are still not treated as professionals. I can help show them the path. Once all realize there is a connection between community and athlete then it all falls into place. It is about all women having a chance.”