yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

This Teen Boxer Wants A Chance to Compete Wearing Her Hijab | National Geographic


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

There's a prayer that we do that says, "If this is good for me, give it to me, and if it's not good for me, then keep it away from me." Every time I make that prayer, I'm like, "But what if God takes it from me?"

My name is Amaya Zafar. I'm 16 years old and I'm a Muslim boxer from Minnesota. I love boxing, but I love my religion, and I want to be able to do both without compromising another. I'm not allowed to fight with my hijab because, in the rule book, it says you can only fight with the like sanctioned uniform, which is the trunks and the jersey.

All right, you ready? Yeah. I cover to show my faith and my self-respect. I think it's ignorance when people say, "Just take it off." To me, it's like, "Would you fight with no clothes?"

People in the Muslim community—not people that I know, but online—will be like, "This is not Islamic. Girls shouldn't be doing this." To say that I can't because I'm a girl? It says nowhere that I can't do anything a guy can do. Before boxing, I was just a girl, you know? Then boxing showed me that being a girl means that you're strong. I can push harder than most guys because I have discipline. I have the strength that a lot of people told me I didn't have.

So, I've talked to local officials and the officials with USA Boxing, and they've been helpful. The executive director has asked internationally for a waiver, so I'm just waiting to hear back from that. I've worked so hard for it, and I keep working hard every single day. For them to tell me, "You can't fight," it's like, "What do you mean? Of course, I know how to, and I'm good at it."

Maybe the rules say I can't, but I think the rules will change. I want to fight with my hijab and Under Armour in the 2020 Olympics. Eventually, it's my dream. I will be able to fight someday soon, hopefully, but if not, I don't care how old I am. I'm going to train until then. [Music] [Music] [Music]

More Articles

View All
Rappelling down a cliff for the first time | Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins
JEFF: Wow. Okay. Yeah. It’s a lot tougher to see. Just trying to keep the feet straight. This is a lot right now. I’m trying to keep my footing, trying to let the rope out at the right speed. And I’m trying to not think about falling to the bottom. Like I…
15 Signs You’re NOT Like Everybody Else
This is everyone else, and this is you. You’re not like everyone else. You were not born the same. You were not raised the same. Most of them don’t even know what you’re capable of. Or do they? By the end of this video, you’ll find out. Here are 15 signs …
7 STOIC STRATEGIES TO MASTER YOUR EMOTIONS | STOICISM INSIGHTS
Welcome back to Stoicism Insights. Today, we’re diving into something truly special. Have you ever wondered how ancient Stoic philosophy can guide us through life’s toughest challenges? Well, get ready because we’re about to uncover seven profound Stoic l…
The ACTUAL Solution to Traffic - A Response to CGP Grey
Hello everyone. This video is a response to CGP Grey’s painful take on traffic. Now, I don’t have an issue with CGP Grey or his content in general, but I do believe that his video entitled “The Simple Solution to Traffic” is wildly misinformed and propag…
Here's What Earthquakes Look Like From Inside the Earth | National Geographic
[Music] The question came up of whether you could hear earthquakes, and I said, “I don’t think so, but we could take the data and speed it up and listen to the whole planet ring after an [Music] earthquake.” The seismo show is an ongoing project in which…
Climate Change Through Bill Nye’s Eyes | Nat Geo Live
So I just to talk briefly about me. I took one class as an elective from Carl Sagan, a long time ago. What he was talking about was something he a phrase that he loved: Comparative climatology. So we compared the climate of Mars with the climate of Venus …