Sport is essential for health and mental well-being. It goes without saying that this is true for both men and women. And the hijab should not prevent women from practicing sport. In several tournaments over the years, including the Olympics, the hijab has been worn in many sports by many women of different nationalities. Now the hijab has come to football after FIFA officially authorized the wearing of head covers for religious reasons during football matches. The wearing of the hijab had been banned but a two-year trial which started in 2012 proved successful. FIFA, world football's governing body, had claimed the wearing of head covers while playing competitive football posed too great a risk of injury to the head or neck although it's hard to imagine how a scarf or a cotton or wool pullover or ice cap would pose a safety hazard to the head or neck. True, in a duel for the ball, one player might tug at a scarf, much like players pull shirts, to try to get to the ball first. A pull too strong could wrap the scarf around the neck but that would be for a second or two, hardly enough time to cause strangulation. And should the scarf become undone in the heat of play, the most damage it can ever do would be to twist itself around the face, possibly blocking partial vision which would hamper a player's mobility as she would be prevented from seeing the entire run of play. An embarrassing situation, no doubt, but no physical danger there. And new hijab designs are secured with Velcro, the greatest invention since the zipper, which eliminates the risk of serious injury. The tiny hook and loop fasteners of Velcro do away with pins and needles that might indeed inflict injury. Seeing that the hijab poses no injury threat, one would hope that the delay in sanctioning was not related to religious discrimination, especially of the Islamic faith, not unheard of in the West. Else why has the ban been in place since 2007? And why did it take seven years for FIFA to come to the conclusion that the hijab is safe to play with? And why did the tests to ensure that the hijab is safe not start until just over a year ago? True, FIFA is slow when changing the rules of football. For years it was dead set against goal-line technology, preferring the human frailties of referees over scientific evidence that a goal has been scored. But the delay over the hijab ruling was a bit excessive, considering that some of the headlines started in 2011 when Iran's women's team withdrew from an Olympic qualification match against Jordan in protest at not being allowed to wear headscarves. It was only after a request from the Asian Football Confederation that the International Football Association Board (IFAB) allowed for the safety of the hijab to be tested. The hosting of the 2016 women's under-17 World Cup by Jordan also played a part in the authorization being introduced. Not all countries are supporting the IFAB decision. French football reacted to the announcement by saying it would continue to ban the wearing of head covers out of respect for France's status as a secular country. The decision is France's prerogative and is associated with its long-running battle over the right of students to wear the hijab in its schools. The FIFA hijab ban was seen as a major barrier in preventing women from participating in the game. Top-notch soccer players were unable to compete because of the veil ban. Now they can, another progressive step by Islam in the non-Muslim world.
