5 major cultural victories for the hijab in the west this year

Everyone is talking about the hijab these days and everyone seems to have an opinion .

While many people have been focusing a lot on the controversies surrounding the headscarf as well as other forms of Islamic clothing in the west, the hijab has also won some major cultural victories in 2016.

So, just for a couple minutes, we decided to focus on some of the big wins and positive moments of spotlight the hijab has received this year. Here are 5:

Rahaf Khatib –  a marathon runner from Michigan, United States – is believed to be the first hijab sporting (pun intended) woman to grace the cover of a U.S. fitness magazine. She was featured on the cover of the October issue of Women's Running magazine.

"We love everything she stands for: Pushing yourself, challenging stereotypes, and motivating others along the way," Jessie Sebor, the magazine's editor-in-chief, told BuzzFeed .

Khatib is originally from Syria but moved to the U.S. in 1980.

Scotland's Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced in August that the hijab would be added to their official uniforms.

"This is intended to better reflect the diversity in our communities and encourage more Muslim women to consider the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a career option," a spokesman Canada's public safety minister, said, according to Al Jazeera .

Similarly, Scotland's chief constable Phil Gormley said: "Like many other employers, especially in the public sector, we are working towards ensuring our service is representative of the communities we serve," according to The Independent .

Although hijab fashion made appearances on the New York Fashion Week runway many times before, Indonesian designer Anniesa Hasibuan became the first designer to ever showcase an entire collection in which every look featured the hijab. With 48 colorful, chic and conservative looks, Hasibuan told the world that modest fashion deserves a place on prestigious international runways.

This summer, Muhammad became the first hijabi to represent the U.S. at the Olympics. Competing as a sabre fencer, Muhammad won bronze along with her teammates in the women's team sabre competition.

In addition to winning a medal for her country, Muhammad became a strong voice advocating on behalf of Muslim-Americans and other hijabis like herself.

"When I heard that there had never been a Muslim woman on the U.S. team to wear the hijab, that is when I made this conscious decision to go for 2016," Muhammad told CNN . "I knew that I had it in me to qualify for the Olympic team, and I wanted to hopefully be that change, that other minorities could see that with hard work and perseverance, anything is possible."

The high-end Italian fashion label released its first-ever line geared specifically toward the female Muslim shopper in January. Revealing a collection of abayas and hijabs for Fall/Winter 2016/2017, the luxury brand joined others including Juicy Couture, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta and DKNY in catering to high-spending Muslim clientele.