Nice example of inclusiveness and of six spirited young women. Like some others here, I wish that religions would not impose standards - usually defined by men - on their adherents.
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It would be interesting for the NYT to interview these women and get their thoughts on race, gender, culture and religion.
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This is great to see. Most Muslim women and teens (especially in the west) choose and want to wear hijab and are not forced by anyone. I see some comments here about hijab being regressive. I disagree. People should have a choice about what they wear, how to express themselves and how to practice their religion. There are many ways of being a woman. Hijab wearing hockey players can definitely be one.
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Glad to see them participate but can't some progressive mullah issue a fatwa waive the requirement for hot, intrusive clothing like the hijab? Surely there is something simple and practical women could wear to show faith. The "problem" of resisting the temptation of visible female skin is one men to grow up about and handle on their own in compliance with the law.
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How many of Azmi sisters do not play hockey and how many brothers do they have? Who says the West is age IGN in the twenty first century?
Funny - I never see ads like this on US TV. Many in the US think of Canadians as Americans north of the border but I think these ads accentuate the fundamental differences in our culture. Love these ads. Congratulations Canadian Tire on being a great business and corporate citizen. #buycanadian. This ad is even better as it dismisses directly many of the negative comments about this article referencing the hijib - no hijib in this one but the message is identical!!
I think America could use some of these lessons in the Trump era. Keep up the good work NYT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh8gA_fIq_A
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Congratulations ladies. This is awesome. From one Canadian to others.
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Not quite the same thing, but several years ago in central Kansas, traveling on one of those old concrete county roads not quite two lanes wide, we saw commotion ahead in the road. Came up to it and found three giggling Mennonite girls, long dresses and all, rollerblading on the road. Looked like the three girls taking turns with one pair of rollerblades. We waved as we went by. So much fun. Good people.
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LOVE the article !! What fun the girls are having. Please tell them "GIRLS RULE " !!!! ALso, at age 76, I wish I could have played with them when I ws their ages.
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There is no place for this type of bizarre attire for women in the 21st century.
Anytime I see a basic Muslim family in public, the men and boys are wearing up-to-date attire -- torn denim dungarees, crazy T-shirts -- whatever the style is.
The women and girls walk 5 paces behind them completely covered. It is ridiculous and modern society really must call them out on it.
The should get with the program or go back to their Arab lands. Enough already.
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If these young women are comfortable with hijabs under their helmets, why should anybody object? Who defines what a Canadian should wear? Great article.
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How many of these sisters are likely to inter-marry with non-Muslim Canadians? With their draperies and Pakistani first names they have little chance of truly integrating into Canadian society and culture, no matter how many goals they score. When people emigrate to Western countries, they have a duty to assimilate; these people are merely colonizers.
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With all due respect, why don’t you let Canadians define who and what makes up Canadian society?
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@Crusader Rabbit
What you're missing, and maybe a key difference in Canada, is that these young women ARE Canadian. This is what Canadian society looks like. There is no Canadian duty to assimilate; Canada calls itself a mosaic, not a melting pot.
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I welcome different cultures and different ways of approaching life. We don’t need to all act the same as long as we are respectful to one another.
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Love it. A few months ago I saw a group of hibjabi-clad young women walking out of the local neighborhood hockey arena, lugging bags with their hockey gear. Nice to know that there are more.
It takes a lot of guts to wear a hijab in secular society. Kudos to these women for blazing their own paths.
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You're trying to normalize the repression of women forced to wear cumbersome restrictive clothing that the men don't have to bother with. Why not some pictures of the family at the beach? Interesting how they could find money for one of the boys to play ice hockey, but not the girls. If this is "progress" I want none of it.
A strange article. I was expecting this to be some kind of professional league with the women excelling. Instead it's a league you pay to join and only one of the six is any good.
Also, in a time of climate change impacting the world faster and harder then we were told (the updated predictions are always worse, never better) nobody should be having 9 children. Not in the West, not anywhere else. Imagine if the parents only had 3 kids, still above replacement level. I'd guess all could have played ice hockey.
What is the agenda, really, with this article?
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What clothes you should wear, it's another question, but at least you should wear the sneakers while you play hockey. No flip flops please.
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Oh man, as an Islanders fan, I can see it happening again if any of them sign with the Islanders and reach free agency, all they're missing are the pajamas.
They should play the yeshiva boys but of course...not
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/nyregion/yeshiva-floor-hockey-new-yor...
Don't believe that anyone should be denied the right to play. Do hope that all women will one day be free of any requirement to cover themselves or alter their appearance in public.
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This is wonderful progress for both the sisters and the young Canadians playing with them. However, nothing is said about the elephant in the room, I.e. restrictions on the girls freedom dictated by their religion both now and when they become of age. Imagine a non-Muslim parent who imposed those same restrictions on their daughters. There would be a great outcry against such misogyny.
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Sports has always had the ability to unite rather than divide. The love of a game doesn't discriminate and this is a clear picture of that. Shared this with my ice hockey player son, great article!
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Cultural pluralism and enlightened values are often hard to reconcile and this strikes me as a good example of that difficulty. My concern is that the elements being held up as signs of cultural "progress"--the hijab on the ice and accommodations for their religious practice--are anything but progressive.
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This is awesome! It is so important to break down stereotypes and let children (they are our only hope) see that we are all far more alike than different. I hope the NHL and the US Olympic Committee will pick up from this article and feature the Azmi sisters in human interest stories this year. Love it...
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