On Thursday's episode of Al Jazeera's The Stream Muslim athletes spoke up about what it's like wearing the hijab.
The episode titled "The Hijab in Sport," shed light on campaigns against the FIBA's (International Basketball Federation) ban on the hijab.
Current regulations state that “players shall not wear equipment (objects) that may cause injury to other players”. This safety concern includes headgear.
During the live stream many shared their experiences and spoke out against the FIBA ban:
The day before the show, its official page on Twitter asked Hijabis to share the struggles they face in sports via the hashtags: #AJStream and #FIBAAllowHijab.
Many responded with heartbreaking stories
In recent weeks many have spoken out against FIBA's ban
Including basketball player Bilqis Abdul Qader
Abdul Qader is a 26-year-old native of Springfield, Massachusetts. She holds the record for highest scorer in high school basketball.
Her hijab was never an issue during her college years as no rule prohibited the wearing of headgear during games, but when she attempted to go pro, the FIBA ban left her unable to play.
Abdul-Qaadir has become an athlete-activist speaking publicly on her struggles after being excluded from playing the game she loves.
Petitions to end the FIBA ban
Over the past few years FIBA has been challenged with movements and petitions calling them out on their hijab ban.
A petition in 2014, led FIBA to approve a two year provisional period, allowing athletes to compete in religious head-wear at the national level only.
In 2016, Twitter erupted with the hashtags #LetThemPlay and #FIBAAllowHijab, calling on the federation to lift the ban.
The #FIBAAllowHijab campaign/petition was led by Indira Kaljo and other Muslim basketball players. It garnered more than 130, 000 signatures on Change.Org, and was also submitted to FIBA.
In May, the federation will address a proposal to allow hijabs in women’s basketball.