I am a member of a homeowner’s association that operates a fitness club. We already had a separate area for women (one room) and the hijabis demanded that males who work at the gym be banned from coming into that room. So now, men, but not women, must knock and announce themselves before coming into that area when the hijabis are around.
So, how does a hijabi exercise? In sweats. With a scarf. A slow, short walk on the treadmill that would not qualify as exercise in any other context.
We have had Muslim women in this community wearing colorful scarves and colorful long tunics with loose, light pants in this community for decades. When they have exercised, they have done so in ordinary gym clothes indistinguishable from those of other patrons. They have not in the past worn scarves to exercise. The black robes, bandit masks, veils for tiny girls and demands for special accommodation are new, highly political, and not designed for the health and welfare of women.
