MINNESOTA – With a vision to engage more Muslim girls in sports, a Somali immigrant and her Minnesota-born business partner are celebrating eight years of success of their activewear hijabs that wick sweat and allow a freer range of movement.
“Our mission is to help more girls play sports,” said social worker Fatimah Hussein, who has volunteered for years with East African girls, Yahoo News reported on Monday, November 28, citing an earlier report by The Columbus Dispatch.
“Girls who play sports are more confident and do better in school … and (are) more ready to compete to get a good job.”
Hussein, 29, is CEO and co-founder of Asiya, the brand named after Pharon’s wife, a historical Islamic woman who was wise and just.
The line of sports hijabs makes exerting one’s self in basketball or volleyball or other sports more comfortable without conceding modesty.
Co-founder Jamie Glover, 32, is a veteran corporate marketer whose friends joked when she signed on with Asiya that it didn’t exactly look like “a billion-dollar idea” or “a get-rich-quick business.”
“I wanted to find a way to spend my working time on something that can make a difference,” said Glover, who also was a collegiate-level volleyball player.
Therefore, the pair decided to get to work designing the sportswear hijabs, catering to a growing market of Muslim-girl athletes.
The buildup has been impressive. According to the article, Asiya made headlines last year by staging a sportswear fashion show. The team also “raised $100,000-plus in working capital this fall through the Minnesota Cup emerging-business competition and Kickstarter.” Hussein and Glover were able to use the earnings to finally hire a manufacturer to develop Asiya’s “lightweight, sweat-wicking hijabs.”
The women are dedicated to their mission to bring modest activewear to Muslim girls.
Girls who play sports are more confident and do better in school … and (are) more ready to compete to get a good job,” Hussein says of her drive to bring the activewear to young athletes. When the hijabs launch in 2017, they’ll sell on Asiya.com for $30 to $40 each, according to the article.
State Sen. Kari Dziedzic was an early supporter of the idea, as well as businesswoman Peggy Lucas, also a University of Minnesota board member. They connected her with Monica Nassif, a veteran consumer-products entrepreneur.
“My counsel to Jamie and Fatimah has been ‘speed, speed, speed,’” Nassif said.
“The (niche market of sports-minded Muslim girls) is growing, and someone is going to do something like this. They have to be fast.
“If they can build a brand and build that consumer base, they have a chance. They don’t have a lot of funds. But Jamie has really taken the ball, developed the business plan and run with it.”