166:(IWF). Kulsoom Abdullah detailing clothing options that she says would meet her Muslim modesty requirements, allow competition officials to make clear calls and avoid concerns that she was obtaining any competitive advantage. To allow Abdullah to participate by modifying their regulations to allow her to compete with her head, arms, and legs covered. In a 2011 article, Nancy Hogshead-Maker stated, "in a contemplative world, we would think about how to come up with attire that would bring out the best in all competitors, regardless what their religious or personal level of modesty is. This is not a beauty contest, not a religious litmus test." International rules originally required the arms and legs of competitors to be bare so that judges could determine when a lift was successful.
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judges. Although
Abdullah put in a request to ease the dress code for her and other Muslim women, her request was rejected. Abdullah's issue was taken to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). During this time, Abdullah started a website where she wrote about her struggles and her cause. Her case received widespread media coverage. Abdullah sought help from Council of American-Islamic Relations to forward her request to the USOC to allow ease in dress code for Muslim women. Her request was put on the USOC's technical committee's agenda by Dragomir Cioroslan, vice president of IWF and was later approved at the IWF congress in
153:. After being denied the right to compete at a USA National Weightlifting competition in modest clothing, where CEO John Duff in an email to Abdullah “As USA Weightlifting is governed by the rules of the International Weightlifting Federation, we must adhere to those regulations and therefore reject your request, as is, to modify your competition costume,” Kulsoom Abdullah sought help from Civil Rights and government organizations. Because USAW and USOC are private organizations, they could not help her.
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as the first female weightlifter to represent the country in international competitions. Abdullah later qualified for the
American Open weightlifting event in which she was unable to participate due to the organization denying her permission to participate as her costume did not comply with the dress
474:
Abdullah also advocates for women in STEM, particularly women in machine learning and data science. She is also a writer at Omdena where she writes about the challenges of women in machine learning and advocates for their inclusion in the field. She is also part of AI for good and AI wonder girls; a
470:
Abdullah is an activist for Muslim women in sports. Since her debut in professional weightlifting, Abdullah has been part of multiple opportuntiies. in 2015, she along with four other Muslim women from around the world formed a team known as
Shirzanan for the RAGBRAI; a bicycle ride event organized
213:
Kulsoom
Abdullah is a practicing Muslim. Her religion obliges her to cover her body, including arms, legs and wear a headscarf. In 2011, Abdullah qualified for the American Open Weightlifting competition, however the tournament required dress code that exposed participant's elbows and knees for the
181:
Abdullah grew up in
Okeechobee; a small town in Florida where she also completed her High School at the Okeechobee High School. She later received a scholarship from University of Central Florida for a Bachelor's program in Computer Engineering with a minor in Math.
161:
on her behalf. She received attention from
National and International news outlets about her challenge to compete at USA National competitions. After the media attention and CAIR's intervention, the USOC and USAW agreed to bring this to the attention of the
434:
Abdullah is a
Computer Engineering professional who worked as a data scientist prior to weightlifting. She has also been part of the deeplearning.ai in the field of data science. She is currently an instructor at the Georgia State University.
195:
Kulsoom
Abdullah began her career as a weightlifter in 2010 when she started taking part in the 105 and 16 pound classes where she was able to finish 23rd of 27 and enroll for local Olympics competitions. After that, she was chosen by
601:
205:. In 2012, she represented Pakistan at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, held in South Korea. She took a break from weightlifting championships in 2013, however she continued participating in local competitions.
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218:. The IWF allowed the use of tight-fitting clothing that could be worn underneath the regular weightlifting costume and said that headscarf has always been allowed in competitions.
455:. She received the Georgia Influential Muslim Award, featured in the 2015-2016 Saris To Suits calendar, and was also a speaker on a panel at the Religion Newswriters Association.
113:. The same year she made history when, in keeping with her religious views, she became the first woman to compete in hijab (head scarf), covered arms and legs after the
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Abdullah has become the face of Muslim women in sports and has featured in coverage regarding Muslim women. Abdullah was featured in the documentary
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region who immigrated to the U.S. Her father was a medical professional who immigrated to U.S. after securing a job in the field of medicine.
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602:"Strong, Athletic and Breaking Records: Meet Kulsoom Abdullah, a Pakistan-American Olympic Weightlifter"
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548:"Brown Girl of the Month: Kulsoom Abdullah is the First Female Pakistani-American Hijabi Weight Lifter"
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The
Pakistan Four: Four strangers in America redefining the narrative of being a Pakistani Muslim woman
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849:"Κουλσούμ Αμπντούλα στο GWomen: "Ένιωσα ότι είχα κοινωνική υποχρέωση να αγωνιστώ" | Gazzetta"
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code rules. In 2011, Abdullah became the first
Pakistani woman to participate in the
149:. She began weightlifting while she was a graduate student as a training method for
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Abdullah was born in Kansas city, USA. She was born to Pakistani parents from the
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by The Des Moines Register. The team aimed to empower Muslim women in sports.
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105:-American weightlifter who became the first female weightlifter representing
516:"Muslim woman Kulsoom Abdullah makes history at weightlifting event - ESPN"
92:, first weightlifter to wear a hijab, covered arms and legs, in competition
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447:, released in 2014. The film also featured Hareem Ahmad, saber fencer,
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133:. She frequently visited Pakistan while growing up and speaks
117:(IWF) modified its rules to accommodate her request to do so.
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769:"Muslim female weightlifter makes history Buzz MMP-Magazine"
825:"Muslim women find empowerment through competitive sports"
744:"Faith at the Olympics: Does it give an athlete an edge?"
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88:
First female Pakistani weightlifter to compete in the
685:"Muslim weightlifter fights to compete, hijabi-style"
631:"Muslim weightlifter fights to compete, hijabi-style"
505:Crossfit Journal 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2014
655:"Female Muslim weightlifter competes in covering"
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145:in electrical and computer engineering from the
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683:msnbc.com, Kari Huus Reporter (2011-06-30).
577:"Kulsoom Abdullah - Atlanta Code Camp 2018"
918:American sportspeople of Pakistani descent
475:community founded to support women in AI.
29:
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155:The Council on American-Islamic Relations
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190:
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720:"USOC lifted the bar for Muslim woman"
209:Religious observance and weightlifting
164:International Weightlifting Federation
115:International Weightlifting Federation
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793:Magazine, Brown Girl (2014-05-12).
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99:Kulsoom Beenazir Abdullah Kakakhel
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16:Pakistani-American weightlifter
913:Pakistani female weightlifters
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125:Kulsoom Abdullah was born in
554:. 2014-11-03. Archived from
458:Abdullah speaks English and
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451:, stand-up comic, and chef
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101:(born 12 March 1976) is a
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581:www.atlantacodecamp.com
241:Clean & Jerk (kg)
748:Religion News Service
485:Muslim women in sport
127:Kansas City, Missouri
695:on November 10, 2014
191:Weightlifting career
799:Brown Girl Magazine
795:"The Pakistan Four"
552:Brown Girl Magazine
354:Asian Championships
279:World Championships
131:Okeechobee, Florida
90:World Championships
724:chicagotribune.com
176:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
70:Pakistani American
430:Scientific career
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661:. 16 July 2011
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881:. Retrieved
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803:the original
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238:Snatch (kg)
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137:. She has a
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903:1976 births
878:AI for Good
874:"Programme"
665:25 November
462:languages.
377:South Korea
67:Nationality
55:Kansas City
897:Categories
883:2022-07-25
859:2022-07-25
855:(in Greek)
834:2022-07-25
809:2019-03-29
779:2022-03-26
754:2022-03-26
729:2022-03-26
699:2019-03-29
616:2019-03-29
586:2019-03-29
562:2019-03-29
522:2014-09-11
491:References
453:Fatima Ali
381:53 kg
373:Pyeongtaek
170:Early life
75:Occupation
44:1976-03-12
689:msnbc.com
606:My Salaam
151:taekwondo
121:Biography
103:Pakistani
659:ESPN.com
636:NBC News
479:See also
466:Activism
216:Malaysia
107:Pakistan
59:Missouri
235:Weight
460:Pushto
302:France
244:Total
232:Venue
135:Pashto
307:48 kg
298:Paris
273:Rank
261:Rank
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773:Buzz
667:2020
361:2012
286:2011
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61:, US
38:Born
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143:PhD
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