The Hijab and Nike have been “best friends” since 2017! However, the recent advertisement by Nike is mockingly celebrating only Hijabi sportswomen! Why? The picture is accompanied by the slogan “Don’t change who you are, change the world!” How is Islamic compulsory dress code changing the world? The ad and its duplicitous message has ignited social media once more on Islamic Oppression of Women.
While Nike might be trying to use the “inclusivity” tag to present the content, women across the globe find the ad and its message heinous!
The company is being criticized for overlooking the complex realities surrounding the Hijab. Islamic hardliners in Iran and other nations mandate Hijab by law with severe penalties for non-compliance. Thus, for a quick buck and an itch to reach an unexplored market of Muslim women – Nike delusionally chose to conflate the Hijab with Women’s Empowerment!
Get This Right – Hijab in Islam is Not a Choice
Many “Secular” or “Left Loonies” shall preach that Hijab is not a compulsion in Islam. However, the fanatics of Iran and Afghanistan prove them otherwise. These hardliners state unequivocally that a woman must cover up to be considered devout! Thus, for them, the Hijab is merely a small part of the deal. They demand complete cover-up of females of all ages as a legal requirement.
Women who defy these mandates face harsh consequences, including imprisonment, flogging, and even death.
The tragic death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, after being detained for allegedly violating hijab laws, sparked widespread protests and highlighted the oppressive nature of such regulations. Thus, by promoting the hijab without acknowledging these realities, Nike’s advertisement is soaked in the blood of innocents that fight against Islamic Opression. It is a celebration of Nike’s insensitivity to the struggles of women who live under Sharia which demands compulsory veiling.
Critics argue that the ad inadvertently endorses a symbol that represents systemic religious oppression of women in the name of faith.
In Islam, women can only play in isolation with other women. However, these other women must also be fully covered up as per Islam!! So a Hijabi can only play with another Hijabi! Moreover, no man should be present, no filiming of the actvity should occur, and no unIslamic activities should be practised. Thus, sport without body contact, aggression, or music are the only options. Thus, why does Nike want to present a sportwear to women when almost all sports shall be Haram for them!
NBikes’ Commercial exploitation vs. Social Responsibility Against Hijab
Nike introduced the “Pro Hijab” sports line in 2017. This move was met with both praise and criticism. While the “inclusive” brigade viewed it as a step towards acceptance of religious sensitivity, others saw it for what it really was. Hijab ads by Nike are a strategic move to tap into a lucrative untapped market segment of Muslim women.
Nike’s decision to feature hijab-clad athletes in its campaigns is interpreted as an attempt to normalize the hijab – without addressing the brutal, sometimes fatal, enforcement in Islamic societies.
This approach raises questions about the role of corporations in social issues. Should companies prioritize market expansion over subliminal messaging of their actions? Critics argue that by promoting the hijab without acknowledging its anti-women “awrat” mentality is a dishonor to women across the world. Nike and its sportswear is not making sports religiously inclusive, it is supporting systems that restrict women’s freedoms.
Global Backlash against Nike’s Hijabi Sportwear!
The advertisement has sparked significant backlash on social media, with users accusing Nike of promoting the subjugation of women. The criticism intensified when the company depicted the celebrated Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani wearing a hijab in an internal newsletter.
Maryam is completely against Hijabi culture and has made a personal choice to forgo the garment after leaving Iran.
Such thoughtless marketing is being projected as a counter to Islamophobia and patriarchy!
However, the Hijab by Nike is reinforcing the chains that bind Muslim women against their own will in the name of faith! While some “progressive” women might state they chose the Hijab, the world dares such paper tigresses by asking them what would happen if they “chose” not to wear it! By failing to consider the hijab as a symbol of Islamic oppression, Nike’s campaign is tone-deaf and out of step with reality!
In The End
Nike’s stab at inclusivity through its hijab is less about individual freedoms and more about the profit margins. While the company states it aims to empower Muslim women athletes, critics argue that the campaign overlooks the oppressive realities associated with compulsory hijab laws and the mindset of fanatic Islam.
Nike made a blunder by choosing to sell its Hijabi sportswear by modernizing an archaic 7th-century practice of “purdah” in Islam.
Modesty is welcome. Sensitivity is appreciated. But disguising oppression as empowerment is pure evil. No woman must need to cover up her head during a cardio-intensive exercise to the detriment of her health in the name of “religion.” Recognizing and respecting these realities is the only way forward. Uncalled-for or deliberate display of vulgarity is unacceptable. However, so is compulsive veiling that accompanies flogging or worse as a penalty for non-compliance.
Nike’s Hijab Ad and sportline is a deliberate insult to the Hijab Warrior Women who risk life and limb in their search for equality!