Modern Muslim female athletes have achieved success in a variety of sports, including volleyball, tennis, association football, fencing, and basketball. In the 2016 Summer Olympics, fourteen women from Muslim-majority countries won medals, participating in a wide range of sports.
Still, Muslim women are underrepresented in athletic arenas, from school and amateur sports to international competitions. Causes may include cultural or familial pressures, the lack of suitable facilities and programs, and bans on the hijab, the Islamic headscarf. Muslim women have used sports as a means to empowerment, working towards health and wellbeing, women's rights, and education.
Professional sports
Association football
Several nations that are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have hosted major association football tournaments. UEFA's Azerbaijan hosted the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and set an average match attendance record for the tournament (since broken by Costa Rica in 2014); the official mascot for this world cup was the Top Top Girl (Top Top Qız), a young girl with the national flag of Azerbaijan painted on her cheeks. Jordan hosted the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the first female soccer world cup to be held anywhere in the Middle East.
Additionally, three Asian regions containing significant numbers of OIC member states and/or large Muslim populations have inaugurated women's championships, including South Asia (SAFF Women's Championship, first edition held in 2010); ASEAN (AFF Women's Championship, 2006); and West Asia (West Asian Football Federation Championship, 2005).
A number of Muslim female footballers have been prominent players for various UEFA national teams in Western Europe. These include Fatmire Alushi (née Bajramaj), who was a world champion with Germany at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China and a two-time winner of the UEFA European Women's Championship (2009, 2013), and France national team player Jessica Houara-d'Hommeaux.
Basketball Unlike many other sports associations, FIBA, basketball's international governing body, prohibited any headgear wider than five inches, effectively prohibiting players from wearing hijabs; the policy was rescinded in 2017. From 2016, the policy received scrutiny from hundreds of thousands of individuals on social media, a movement that was headed by NCAA players Indira Kaljo and Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir. Fellow players Ezdihar Abdulmula, Asma Elbadawi, Ki-Ke Rafiu, Raisa Aribatul, Raabya Pasha, Merve Sapci, and Noha Berhan also created petitions asking FIBA to repeal the ban.
Both Kaljo and Abdul-Qaadir achieved considerable success in high school and college basketball. Abdul-Qaadir was the 2009 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, scored over 3,000 points during high school (a state record for both boys and girls), and was named to the C-USA All-Academic team during her career at the University of Memphis. Kaljo was a JUCO All-American player who only began wearing the hijab in her late 20s. Both women chose not to pursue a professional basketball career as a result of their religious convictions.
Cricket
In the ICC Women's Rankings, two of the top ten teams (Pakistan and Bangladesh) are from Muslim-majority countries,ICC Women's Rankings , International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 January 2017. and Bangladesh hosted the 2014 Women's World Twenty20 (one of cricket's two world championships).Women's World Twenty20 2014, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2017. Muslim women have also represented India (Fowzieh Khalili, Nuzhat Parween, Gouher Sultana, Nooshin Al Khadeer, and Rasanara Parwin) and South Africa (Shabnim Ismail)."Nuzhat Parveen a new kid on the block in Indian women’s cricket", One India, 6 November 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2017."Roshanara Prepare to shine in ICC Women's world T20", Times of India, 5 September 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2017. "'I always told myself there is no one better than me'", ESPNcricinfo, 18 August 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2017. In England, Muslim women have not penetrated cricket to the same degree as Muslim men (several of whom have represented England internationally)."Bend it like Salma Bi", The Guardian, 18 March 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2017. The Women's County Championship only got its first Muslim player in 2012, when Salma Bi debuted for Northamptonshire."I’m proud to be the first Muslim woman county cricketer: Salma Bi", The Nation, 10 July 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
In conservative Muslim societies, cricket may be viewed as more suitable for women than other sports due to its modest clothing (long trousers and long sleeves) and lack of physical contact. An Iranian women's team was formed in 2009, and in 2010, cricketer Narges Lafooti became the first Iranian woman to travel alone to an overseas sporting event, travelling to Singapore to umpire an under-19 tournament."The miracle of cricket in Iran – and its popularity among women", Cricket Country, 7 August 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2017. In Afghanistan, women's cricket faces ongoing difficulties due to cultural attitudes against women in sport, including specific threats against female players. A national team was formed in 2010, but by 2014 it was effectively dormant."Afghan women's cricket crushed by threats, bombs and tradition", SBS, 25 December 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2017."Afghan Women, Eager to Play, Are Relegated to the Sidelines", The New York Times, 26 April 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
Fencing In 2016, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first American to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab. She chose the sport because it was one of the few that she could compete in without altering the uniform. In an interview with Tamerra Griffin, she said that she hoped to be an impetus for diversity in a sphere that has "always been a white sport reserved for people with money". Ibtihaj was ranked eighth in the world entering the 2016 Summer Olympics, but lost in the round of 16 to France's Cécelia Berder.
Tunisian foil fencer Inés Boubakri won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, defeating Russian Aida Shanayeva in the medal round. She dedicated her medal to all Arab women, saying that she wished her victory to be a message that "women exist and they have their place in society".
Figure skating Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova is the 2018 Olympic champion, 2018 European champion, 2017–18 Grand Prix Final champion, and the holder of the world record scores in both senior and junior ladies' figure skating.
Elizabet Tursynbayeva is the 2019 World silver medalist, the 2019 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2017 CS Ice Star champion, the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy silver medalist, the 2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb silver medalist, the 2019 Winter Universiade silver medalist, and a three-time Kazakhstani national champion (2015–2017).
Kamila Valieva is the 2020 World Junior champion, the 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and the 2021 Russian senior national silver medalist.
In 2012, Zahra Lari became the first figure skater to represent the United Arab Emirates in international competitions; she is also the first figure skater to compete internationally while wearing a hijab and full-body covering.
Ice hockey Abu Dhabi native Fatima Al Ali plays for the United Arab Emirates women's national ice hockey team. As part of the "Hockey is for Everyone" campaign in February 2017, she practiced with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and with the Washington Pride of the Junior Women's Hockey League. She hopes to inspire other Muslim women in the United Arab Emirates to play hockey. She also participated in a ceremonial puck drop during a game between the Washington Capitals and the Detroit Red Wings on February 9, 2017.
Martial arts In the 2016 Summer Olympics, more Muslim women won medals in martial arts events than in any other sport. Majlinda Kelmendi won gold in judo in the 52-kg weight class, the first ever medal for her native Kosovo. Mariya Stadnik (48-kg wrestling) won silver for Azerbaijan, and Iranian Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin and Egyptian Hedaya Malak tied for bronze in the 57-kg taekwondo event. Other bronze medalists include Azerbaijani Patimat Abakarova (49-kg taekwondo), Tunisian Marwa Amri (58-kg wrestling), and Turkish Nur Tatar (67-kg taekwondo). Distria Krasniqi won gold in judo in the 48-kg weight at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
In the 2020 Summer Olympics, Egyptian Feryal Abdelaziz won gold against Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan 2–0 in the final for the 61-kg karate kumite, becoming the first Egyptian woman to win the title. Fellow Egyptian Giana Farouk won the bronze the 61-kg karate kumite. Egyptian Hedaya Malak won bronze in the 67-kg taekwondo event.
Mountaineering In 2005, Iranians Farkhondeh Sadegh and Leila Bahrami became the first Muslim women to successfully climb Mount Everest. They dedicated their accomplishment to all Muslim women, saying, "People often seem to think Muslim women are limited. It would be a good chance to show the world that something like this is possible for us." Raha Moharrak became the youngest Arab and first Saudi woman to peak Everest in 2013.
Tennis
Several OIC member states host professional-level tennis tournaments. As of 2016, there are Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour events in Malaysia (Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur; inaugurated 2010), Morocco (Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Rabat; 2001), Qatar (Qatar Open, Doha; 2001), Turkey (Istanbul Cup; 2005), the United Arab Emirates (Dubai Tennis Championships; 1993), and Uzbekistan (Tashkent Open; 1999). A number of OIC member states are also experiencing rapid economic development and constructing tennis facilities on a previously unprecedented scale.
Notable Muslim female tennis players include Zarina Diyas, Selima Sfar, Aravane Rezaï, Dinara Safina, Sania Mirza, Ons Jabeur, Mayar Sherif and Fatma Al-Nabhani. Rezaï, an Iranian-French player, has won four WTA titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of 15. Jabeur, a Tunisian player became the first North African/Arab woman to win a WTA singles title at Birmingham in June 2021 and also the first ever to break into the top 10 in singles. Primarily a doubles player, Mirza reached a #1 doubles ranking in 2015, winning 40 career titles. She has faced severe criticism from Muslim clerics in her native India, who condemn her decision to wear conventional tennis outfits as "indecent".
Track and field At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Dalilah Muhammad became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the 400 metre hurdles, and is the world record holder in the event. Muhammad's parents attribute her success to her "Muslim faith, discipline, and talent". Other notable Muslim track and field athletes include Sarah Attar, Sifan Hassan, who holds the world record in the Mile, Salwa Eid Naser, Enas Mansour, Dina el-Tabaa, Shinoona Salah Al-Habsi, Kariman Abulijadayel, Kamiya Yousufi, and Sulaiman Fatima Dahman.
Volleyball Between 2010 and 2016, teams from Turkey and Azerbaijan won five out of seven titles at the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship. Both nations are part of the OIC. During the same period, in the CEV Women's Champions League, Turkish clubs won five out of six editions from 2010 to 2015.
The Turkish women's national volleyball team has enjoyed significant success in the twenty-first century. They won gold at the Mediterranean Games in 2005, finished first in the 2014 European League, and beat Poland 3–0 in the final of the inaugural European games in 2015. Other notable women's national volleyball teams from the OIC include Azerbaijan, Algeria (who were African champions in 2009 and gold medallists at the 2011 All-Africa Games), and three-times African champions Tunisia.