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Meet the Fashion Designer Making Hospital-Grade Hijabs for Frontline Workers

Hilal Ibrahim

Hilal Ibrahim. Courtesy of Fallon Agency

As part of working on the frontlines, hijab-wearing healthcare workers face an added challenge when attempting to maintain sanitation; the challenge of keeping their headscarves clean. According to Arab News, it is reported that some women are even going as far as disposing of their headscarves between every shift to eliminate the risk of contamination. The result? A shortage of hijabs.

Addressing yet another challenge to arise from the nightmare that is the coronavirus, Minneapolis-based fashion designer, Hilal Ibrahim has set out to design sanitary headscarves that can be washed as easily as they can be reused. Ibrahim owns Henna & Hijabs, a boutique specializing in organic products, and as a result, has had plenty of experience experimenting with new materials to keep headscarves sanitized and sterile. Since starting her initiative, the designer has already donated over 700 hijabs to doctors and nurses on the frontline of the coronavirus, not only in Minneapolis, but all across the state.

Available in a variety of colors, including black, tan, and blue, the hospital-grade headscarves are designed to empower hijab-wearing frontline workers by adding to their mobility on the job, without posing a threat to the adherence of their religious values. Created out of jersey material, the pieces are lightweight and breathable, and lend themselves perfectly to a fast-paced environment. Most importantly, they are designed to withstand the harshness of industrial washing machines.

While Ibrahim has used the context of Covid-19 to amplify her mission of providing hijab-wearing healthcare workers with appropriate hospital wear, she undertook a similar mission in 2019, joining forces with Park Nicollet and HealthPartners to once again design sterile hijabs for healthcare professionals.

Read Next: How the Fashion Industry is Grappling with the Effects of Covid-19 While Offering Respite

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