Hear more from our June cover star.
For the June issue we are championing athletes who are changing the landscape for the sportswomen in the region.
Manal Rostom is not afraid of a challenge. In fact, she is on the way to completing six major marathons and conquering all seven major mountain summits, the first Egyptian woman to do so.
In her sporting career she has already made a significant impact by becoming the first woman to complete in the New York marathon wearing the Nike Pro Hijab, and has also launched a Facebook community ‘Surviving Hijab’ that has thousands of members.
“Women are strong achievers and it’s just beautiful to see the narrative completely change to support diversity, gender equality and inclusivity,” says Manal. “I am a bit biased as I have always fought for the presence of Muslim, Hijabi women in sports just to demolish the negative image of Muslim women worldwide being too lazy, boring or uncool. I think Nike took the plunge and just did it by coming out with a performance Hijab in 2017 and saying ‘look these women exist, they have a talent and they need to perform well in their relative sports’. So many brands are following into the lead of this.”
“Also – it’s not just about the hijab but rather giving women a greater platform to be whoever they want, dream crazy and not be called crazy. Just passionate about life and their calling,” she adds.
Watch the video below to get to know Manal a little bit better.
Photography: Farel Bisotto
Videographer: Mustufa Abidi
Editing: Steve Erana
Pick up the June issue now.
Media: Emirates Woman
