Divya Nagarajan

A common thread in lawmaking throughout history has been the policing of what women do with their bodies. From prolific anti-abortion legislation, to the ongoing acquittal of sexual assault perpetrators, to the governments restricting women’s ability to move outside their home, there is unfortunately no end in sight to the list of societal barriers to women owning themselves entirely. Muslim women bear this burden especially heavily, particularly in the realm of religious headwear. For example, earlier this year, an “anti-separatism” bill in France pushed to ban girls under 18 from wearing hijab in public, alongside other discriminatory amendments. This is not the only case of discriminatory law stemming from Islamophobia.

Hijab is the concept in Islam of modesty. While the term is most often used in the Western world to describe a head scarf worn by many Muslim women, it’s truly an umbrella term that also encompasses other forms of modesty in clothing, such as the khimar, another form of headscarf, the niqab, a more complete veil that covers the body, or the burka, a veil that covers the entire body including a thin veil over the eyes. Dressing modestly is an important concept in Islam, and it is first and foremost an act of worship. However, hijab has been the subject of controversy time and time again in the Western world as a result of prolific misinformation and global Islamophobia.

While the U.S. exhibits its fair share of discrimination against Muslim communities, Europe has a special history of oppression. To date, fifteen European states have enacted a full or partial ban on the burqa. France, in particular, has been the site of widespread controversy over this issue. As a nation with an emphasis on secularity, wearing a veil is even banned in public schools. In some cases, these laws have been justified as necessities within certain professions. For example, interpersonal communication and eye contact are argued to be important in a field like teaching, and a face obscuring veil is therefore considered inappropriate in this context. Yet, these arguments lack cultural sensitivity and fail to consider the overstep such legislation takes into the area of personal autonomy and individual choice. And why is it that such laws only ever seem to affect women?

Most recently, in summer 2021, the European Union’s highest court ruled that it was acceptable for employers to prohibit expressions of religion in the workplace, including headscarves. Although the law itself doesn’t mention Muslim women directly, they are the population most harmed. While parts of the world are making strides towards greater cultural understanding, Western lawmakers continue to spin the narrative that Islam as a whole is an oppressive religion. Rulings and laws discriminating against Islamic practices only help this backwards mindset sink its claws deeper into the general public’s perceptions.

Laws like this are a reminder that intersectionality is present in every space, and that the problem goes beyond religious freedom. Just as abortion law in the U.S. persists as one of the most controversial issues, and sexual assault laws continuously fail to uphold an acceptable standard of consequence for perpetrators, Islamophobic laws are another in a long list of systemic structures disallowing women from entirely owning their bodies. These laws also imply that a Muslim woman’s choice to wear hijab is a political one, rather than a personal and spiritual one. In a world where we should be embracing and celebrating our beautiful differences, rulings like this only promote ongoing disunity and discrimination against an already marginalized group.

Fortunately, there is hope. As disheartening as it can be to see parts of the world regressing away from religious and personal freedom, there are always those who will fight back. As a response to the most recent French Islamophobic law banning hijab-wearing mothers from accompanying their children on school trips, burkinis from being worn in public pools, and religious symbols (including hijab) from being worn by competitors in a sporting event, American Muslim women trended the hashtag #handsoffmyhijab in solidarity. Prominent hijabi figures spoke out to condemn the law, including U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad who reminded the world that had the law been in place when she competed in France, she would not be the successful athlete she was today.

The fight is far from over. While awareness for the issue has spread through social media and news outlets over the past few months, the discriminatory rulings in Europe remain active nonetheless. Recent developments in the Islamic world, such as the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan, have already caused a swell in Islamophobic sentiment in the West. There is always more work to be done. While an individual commitment to decolonizing our mindsets is essential, it is most important to hold our governments responsible for protecting the rights of all their citizens regardless of creed. Only then will we, as a world, be able to offer our Muslim sisters the respect and autonomy they deserve.

Featured Image by Maggie Cole

CW: description of eating disorders, numbers

At only 17 years old, Mary Cain was on the road to being the next Simone Biles, Serena Williams, or Katie Ledecky of track and field. She was a record-breaking athlete, the youngest American to ever join the World Championship team, and preparing for the Olympics. In short, she was a phenomenon. But before Cain had the chance to make history, her career fell into shambles due to the abusive culture of the elite track team she was signed to, Nike’s Oregon Project. During her time with the team, Mary Cain was pushed by her male coach to eat less and less to lose weight. Refusing to diet would mean losing her place on the best track team in the world; for a young athlete with big dreams, her choice was clear. However, instead of receiving the nutrition she needed to thrive as an athlete, Cain was eating so little that she didn’t menstruate for three years, broke five bones during her time with the team, and was having suicidal thoughts.

Mary Cain came forward with her story after leaving the Oregon Project, but she is certainly not the only athlete to have experienced this abusive culture; this is a picture all too common in women’s athletics. Almost any athlete would agree that nutrition in athletics is just as important as training. Great athletes are conscientious of what goes into their bodies, but this conscientiousness can develop into a disordered fixation as a result of intense pressure and performance standards. Eating disorders are a serious issue, and women athletes are at a higher risk for developing them than male athletes or non-athlete women.

There are currently eight eating disorders with diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Of these, the most well-known, and the one that most commonly affects athletes, is anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa, often shortened colloquially to anorexia, is a disorder characterized by intense restriction of food intake which leads to unhealthy weight loss and an unexpectedly low weight. Those diagnosed with eating disorders are often distressed at the thought of gaining weight, and consistently exhibit behaviors to prevent weight gain. There are two subtypes of anorexia nervosa—the binging/purging subtype, in which the affected individual engages recurrently in self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives/diuretics, or binge eating, and the restricting subtype, in which these binging/purging behaviors are not engaged in. In athletes, heavy restriction of food intake along with intensive exercise is often referred to as anorexia athletica, a specific subtype of anorexia nervosa that affects athletes but has no official diagnostic criteria.

Something important to note about eating disorders like anorexia nervosa is that, contrary to the beliefs of many, they are not choices—they are real, treatment-warranting illnesses. There are many causal factors that can lead to the development of an eating disorder, and like most psychological disorders, the causes are not yet fully understood. What we do know is that genetics, culture, biology, and environment all have a role to play. Athletes are at a higher risk because of the environment they spend much of their time in—one that links low body weight to high performance, thinness to winning, and struggle to success.

When it comes to athletics, another condition, orthorexia, warrants discussion as well. Having no official diagnostic category, this condition is often filed under “Other specified feeding or eating disorder,” the “catch-all” diagnostic category for disordered eating practices that do not fit elsewhere. Restrictive in nature just like anorexia nervosa, orthorexia is characterized by an intense fixation with “healthy” food, with fear or distress being caused by the consumption of any food seen by an individual as too “unhealthy.” Orthorexia, like anorexia nervosa, is likely to lead to nutritional deficiencies and low body weight, and the individual often lacks awareness of the severity of their body’s condition.

The problem with women’s athletics is that symptoms like osteoporosis (brittle bones) and amenorrhea (lack of the menstrual period) are seen as normal in the context of the sport, attributed falsely by coaches and athletes alike to intense exercise when they’re truly a result of nutritional deficiency. This is a dangerous lack of recognition. Weight and size are rewarded an undue emphasis in athletics as well; in sports with subjectively judged aesthetic components, like diving, gymnastics, and dance, there is intense pressure to have a certain body type, and in sports requiring speed like track and swimming, having “less weight to carry” is seen as advantageous. Athletes often weigh in right in front of their coaches and teammates, the number on the scale displayed for all to see. On top of all these added pressures, female athletes are subjected to the same everyday beauty standards that affect us all—things like unrealistic body standards seen on social media and photoshopped magazine covers. It makes sense that there’s an eating disorder epidemic in women’s athletics, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

The fight against this culture in women’s athletics begins with women like Mary Cain. What happened to her should never have happened, and by making her experiences publicly known, she is taking a step to making sure it never happens to another girl. It starts with athletes like Gracie Gold, a figure-skating prodigy who has told her story of food restriction, binge-eating and purging, depression, and suicidal ideation after a coach told her that 124 pounds was “a big number.” And it starts with Yulia Lipnitskaya, who retired from figure skating to seek inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa after competing in the Olympics at age 15. These are devastating stories, but these women’s courage in speaking out is a step towards destroying the sinister food culture in women’s athletics. We can only hope to continue building awareness and recognition for this issue, so that the faces we see on every Olympic stage to come are smiling and healthy ones.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, contact the NEDA Helpline for support, resources, and treatment options.

Featured Image: Gracie Lam for The New York Times

Hands Off My Hijab: Why Laws Targeting Muslim Women Are Violent

The Eating Disorder Epidemic in Women’s Athletics