Ohio Teen Disqualified After Cross-Country Race For Wearing Hijab

An Ohio teenager was disqualified from her cross-country match because of her hijab, a report says. Noor Abukaram had just completed her fastest 5k of the season at the teams Division 1 Northwest District cross country district meet in Findlay: 22 minutes, 22 seconds. Only to find out that she had been disqualified because of her headwear.

The news shocked the young athlete who has competed in sports her entire life. Abukaram recounted the events to her cousin, blogger and Cure Your World founder Zobaida Falah, who took to the Internet to raise awareness of the issue.

Abukaram, a student at the the Bounty Collegium, had been checked in before the race with her teammates, as is the standard custom. Officials were checking the competitors for uniform violations; one person was asked to change shorts because hers had a stripe instead of being black like the rest of the team. Nothing was said to Abukaram about her hijab. She was cleared to compete.

After running her race, Abukaram realized that her name wasn't even on the list. Her teammates notified her that she had been disqualified due to her headwear. This immediately devastated the runner. There is nothing in the rules that specifically prohibits the wearing of the hijab, but there is a stipulation against the wearing of hats, scarves, and other head coverings. Abukaram told Teen Vogue, "The officials did not give me the same respect that they gave my teammate who was also violating a rule when they told her to change her shorts and gave her the chance to fix herself.”

A representative from Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) told Teen Vogue that “Cross country runners may participate in competitions with religious headwear, provided the runner has obtained a waiver from the OHSAA and submitted it to the head official before the race since it is a change to the OHSAA uniform regulations. Abukaram did not have the signed waiver, thus causing the issue.

Abukaram now has a waiver that has been approved so she can compete in the team's next race. Despite this setback, she was not upset with her coach or her team and was very thankful for the support system that she had.