- Practicing taekwondo for 15 years, Munirah Abdiwahid has a new dream
- More young Muslim girls inspired to join the sport
Fifteen years ago, Munirah Abdiwahid joined her first taekwondo class with her brothers at a local club in London.
Joining the sport at the age of 6, the British-born Somali girl never imagined that her choice would make history.
โWhat inspires me is I am doing it for girls like me that donโt have the opportunity,โ Abdiwahid said in an interview with Olympics.com.
โI want to rise to the top and prove that, as a Somali girl with the headscarf, we can do it.โ
๐ Read Also: FIFA Celebrates First Hijabi Player, Referee at Womenโs World Cup
At the age of 15, she won her first cap for the Somalia national team. Now, she is fighting to become the first-ever taekwondo athlete from her home country to qualify for the Olympics.
โWhen I joined the national team, it was kind of like a dream come true in the sense that I got to do what Iโve always dreamed of,โ says Abdiwahid.
โI found myself doing competitions I never imagined Iโd be doing. Competing with [top] athletes, stepping on the same mats as people I grew up watchingโฆ that was a big reality.โ
Support
Like millions of other Somalis, Abdiwahidโs parents fled their home country, escaping political instability and civil war. Fortunately, she found a community of support in Great Britain.
โWeโre quite a taekwondo family,โ says the 21-year-old in a chat with Olympics.com just after competing at the 2023 World Championships in Baku, her third time at the global taekwondo event.
โMe and my older brother started it together, and my little two siblings do taekwondo now. My mom did try it too, but she quit early.
โEven at the club that I grew up in, there were a lot of Muslim hijab [wearing] girls, so I didnโt feel out of space when I went to competitions because it was quite normal to have the hijab.โ
Her effort is paying off as she has got many support messages, particularly from the Somali diaspora community.
โA lot of girls have messaged me saying, โyou make me want to take on taekwondoโโฆ Even some parents have messaged me that they will put their daughters in taekwondo club,โ shares Abdiwahid who assists with coaching some of the younger girls at her club of the encouraging messages.
โThere are many amazing hijabi athletes and I feel like in taekwondo right now we are breaking a lot of the stereotypes.
โI am breaking the narrative of โa Somali or a Muslim girl should not do sportโ.โ
