Kulsoom Abdullah, 35, took up weightlifting a couple of years ago and improved so quickly that she started competing locally. But the Atlanta-based weightlifter of Pakistani descent has now been barred from entering the US senior nationals in Iowa next month because she covers her arms, legs and head—which violates international rules governing weightlifting attire.
Abdullah, who has up until now competed in exercise pants, a tight-fitting long-sleeve shirt with a T-shirt over it and a headscarf, attempted to progress to higher-level competitions but ran into the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) rules on appropriate attire. IWF rules forbid clothing that covers the knees or elbows because judges must be able to see that both have been locked out to complete a lift. But Abdullah said she would agree to wear more tight-fitting clothing that would allow judges to see if her elbows and knees were locked.
Despite being initially barred from competing, Abdullah earlier this month got word that USA Weightlifting agreed to take her case to the IWF later this month.
She told the Associated Press: “I’d hate to think that just because you dress a certain way, you can’t participate in sports. 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.”
Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim rights organization that took up Abdullah’s cause, agreed. “What we hear all the time is, ‘You’ve got to empower Muslim women around the world. Well, how can you empower a Muslim woman more than being a weightlifter? She should be encouraged and helped along in this process. There shouldn’t be arbitrary roadblocks placed in her path.”
If the IWF agrees to amend the rules, Abdullah might still have a chance to do some snatches and clean-and-jerks at next month’s national competition.
