Nike said it started developing the hijab after some Muslim athletes expressed frustration with competing while wearing a traditional hijab, according to CNN.
"The Nike Pro Hijab may have been more than a year in the making, but its impetus can be traced much further back, to an ongoing cultural shift that has seen more women than ever embracing sport," Nike said in a statement, according to WWJ-TV. "This movement first permeated international consciousness in 2012, when a hijabi runner took the global stage in London."
"The product, like others in the company's Pro line, has a breathable and lightweight mesh that makes it "almost like a second skin," Nike said.
"By providing Muslim athletes with the most groundbreaking products, like the Nike Pro Hijab, Nike aims to serve today's pioneers, as well as inspire even more women and girls in the region who still face barriers and limited access to sport," the statement said.
Emirati figure skater Zahra Lari is already wearing the hijab, according to Nike.
"I was thrilled and a bit emotional to see Nike prototyping a Hijab," Lari said in a statement, CNN reported. "I've tried so many different hijabs for performance, and ... so few of them actually work for me. But once I put it on and took it for a spin on the ice, I was blown away by the fit and the light weight."
WWJ reported that the Pro Hijab will be on sale in Spring 2018.
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