*Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir became the first woman at the University of Memphis and Indiana State University to wear a hijab while playing NCAA Division I basketball.
Abdul-Qaadir, 29, still “holds the high school career scoring record in the state among both boys and girls, according to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association,” per CNN. Her dreams of a professional career came to a halt by a rule that prohibits headgear larger than five inches. Forced to choose between the game and her religious Islamic headscarf, Abdul-Qaadir ultimately challenged the rule and paid a hefty price for doing so.
“For the first time in my life, I was really tested,” Abdul-Qaadir told CNN in 2020.
“I couldn’t play professionally, so I had to make a decision. I considered taking the hijab off to play. It was a dream since I was a kid, and it was my faith keeping me from reaching my dream. I was so torn,” she continued.
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“Regardless of the struggles or the downfalls that you have, there’s going to be light at the end.”
-@matt_winer sits down with Bilqis Abdul Qaadir to learn more about why she had to choose her faith over her love for the game. #BeyondThePaint pic.twitter.com/mzuF8e2nyK
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 22, 2018
Refusing to choose, Abdul-Qaadir sacrificed her dream of playing professional basketball but the decision also motivated her to inspire young girls. She currently serves as the athletic director at a mosque in London and is co-founder of Dribbling Down Barriers. The training program promotes diversity in basketball, Insider reports.
In a new essay published by the outlet, the Springfield, Massachusetts native speaks about her journey and fight for women’s rights.
Some highlights from the Insider essay include:
- I didn’t start wearing the hijab until I was a freshman in high school. Aside from my name, no one could physically see that I was Muslim until I started to display my faith that way. My mom, my aunts, and my sisters wear the hijab, and I knew this was a practice I was going to adopt, too. I never resisted it, though I did feel uncomfortable at first, physically and socially.
- The first time I heard anything about my headscarf was at a basketball game against a Catholic team in Massachusetts. When I was taking the ball out on the sideline, a kid from the stands yelled, “You look like Osama bin Laden’s niece!”
- Becoming the first Muslim woman to play basketball in a headscarf in NCAA history was a great opportunity for me to represent my faith on a big stage. But I don’t think I fully realized the sheer weight that held at the time.
- Being a woman, Black, and Muslim — it’s a trifecta of sorts. It’s a beautiful trifecta, but it meant I was exposed to that much more scrutiny. My natural reactions, like certain facial expressions and stomping off the court, seemed to weigh heavily on people, like, “I didn’t know Muslim women could get mad,” or “Black women are always so angry.”
- When I came up against rules by the International Basketball Federation prohibiting certain headgear, I was honestly ready to quit. It was a selfish thought: If I can’t play, then forget it.
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir was forced to re-examine her faith and identity as a Muslim American when a controversial ban on religious headgear ended her chances at playing basketball professionally.
LIFE WITHOUT BASKETBALL, April 9. ????: https://t.co/Yd4hEBQTr8 #HRWFFTO pic.twitter.com/w4Fe2z4j2Z
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) April 3, 2019
When she was a senior at Indiana State in 2013, Abdul-Qaadir was preparing to play professionally in Europe. It was during this time that her hijab became an issue.
She was reportedly told by her agent that the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) prohibited head coverings during games – including the hijab. Abdul-Qaadir says in the essay that the news made her start “questioning myself” and “questioning my faith.”
“My entire career, I’d worn the hijab. I felt like I was trying to do my best as a Muslim woman and represent my faith, but when I reached my dream of playing professional basketball, I was told no, I couldn’t play because of my hijab. I started to question God, like, you had to take away my dream because of my faith.”
Read the full essay here.
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