Muslim Lifter Barred from Entering the U.S. Senior Nationals

Kulsoom Abdullah who has been practicing weightlifting for a couple of years is banned from participating in the U.S. senior nationals that is to be held in Iowa next month.

The reason she is not allowed to enter the competition is that she wants to keep her hijab and cover her head, arms, and legs, while lifting.

"I'd hate to think that just because you dress a certain way, you can't participate in sports," the Associated Press Quoted Abdullah as saying Thursday. "I don't want other women who dress like me to say, 'I can't get involved in that sport' and get discouraged. It would be nice to have an environment where it wouldn't be an issue of how you dress or having different beliefs and faiths."

This is not the first time Muslim females are subjected to such restrictions and discriminations. Last week, the Iranian Women's football team was banned from playing a crucial Olympic qualifier match because of their head scarves.

FIFA disqualified the team only minutes before the match and gave them a 3-0 defeat in their un-played game against Jordan. This happened while the team had played the previous games with the same covering, without getting any objection from FIFA.

MSM