The first hijabi competitor of gladiators aneila afsar aims to inspire

When Aneila Afsar appeared for the first time on Gladiators, she entered the story.

The popular BBC One program which offers gladiators against suitors in a series of physical challenges was restarted last year and Aneila reached the semi-finals on Saturday.

She became the first person to compete in the show bearing a hijab and says that she is gaining strength by carrying it.

“I love having the opportunity to make this emblematic show and to inspire young Muslim girls, women from my community, and to show them that there is nothing we can do,” said the 26 -year -old at BBC Newsbeat.

Many Muslim girls and women wear the hijab, an Islamic head covering, as a symbol of modesty.

Aneila has not always worn one, only by choosing to cover her hair three years ago, and that was because she did not see other hijabis in sport.

The mother of two of Lancashire is a former Taekwondo champion, winning a Commonwealth Championship in the youth category.

At the time, she “did not have the courage to kiss the scarf”.

“Part of this was due not to have female Muslim models in sport or sport in general.

“It was difficult to adapt to wearing a scarf while being in the fitness industry.

“Go not to cover yourself then cover everything that includes your hair, you may have the impression that people look, you don’t feel confident,” she said.

But as they get older, Aneila has found the confidence to be this model herself and now she sees the hijab differently.

“It’s stimulating, it’s my superpower. I love it.”

Hijab can sometimes be a controversial subject in sport and at the Paris Olympic Games from last year, French athletes have been prohibited from carrying a Even if the International Olympic Committee allowed them to do so.

In 2023, Moroccan footballer Nouhaila Benzina entered history as First player to wear a hijab at the Women’s World Cup. They had been prohibited until 2014 by the Director of the FIFA game.

Since her appearance for the first time on the show, Aneila says that not everyone has been so positive about her hijab.

She posted on the reception of Islamophobic and racist abuses on social networks, but says that overall, this was largely offset by the encouraging reaction.

It is important for Aneila who says she wants to show “that you can wear a hijab, be involved in the fitness while continuing your dreams”.

“I receive messages from girls as young as 12 years old telling me that I am the reason why they take gymnastics again and that they feel that they can now be involved in sport.”

And it is not only the young girls who were inspired by Aneila.

“Since I have been in gladiators, I have received messages from women in her forties who say that if there was a visible Muslim woman carrying a scarf when they were younger, all their journey with the physical form would have been different,” she said.

And she hopes that her journey to the gladiators will encourage her own children to feel likely to be themselves.

“My daughter aged and I wanted to be a Muslim model visible for her,” she said.

“I used my children to be my inspiration. It was because of them that I wanted to wear a scarf.”

Aneila says that the reaction she had since her first appearance on the gladiators helped her make “we can expel the barriers, break all stereotypes”.

“The hijab is not a limitation.”

The gladiators will be broadcast on BBC One at 5:50 p.m. on Saturday 5 April.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. on weekdays – or listen to back here.