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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]

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