Yes, There is a Hygienic Hijab

Muslima health care workers now have access to PPE hijabs

BY RABIYAH SYED

About three years ago, the outbreak of Covid-19 inaugurated a massive global undertaking to find a prevention and a cure. As researchers sought answers, frontline workers were doing their best to help the stricken. As the number of cases grew, the safety of health care workers depended on using reliable personal protective equipment (PPE). Muslimas wearing the hijab had to find a way to balance their faith with their safety, as well as that of their patients and families, due to lack of suitable PPE.

Respiratory therapists Firaoli Adam and Yasmin Samatar, working in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, understood the importance of adhering to Islam’s principles and PPE for Muslima hi jab-wearing health care workers. This inspired them to create Mawadda (https://www. usmawadda.com/), a medical equipment business whose disposable hijabs meet both Islamic and FDA standards.

All medical personnel have access to the basic items needed to protect themselves from exposure to hazardous materials or infectious illnesses. However, Adam and Samatar discovered that they couldn’t prevent their hijabs from becoming contaminated. Their solution — a wasteful and disheartening temporary one — was to throw their hijabs away after their shifts. Clearly, a more creative approach was necessary.

Adam and Samatar came up with the idea of making medically sound disposable hijabs, also known as hygienic hijabs. This first-of-its-kind item comes in both a slip-on and a tie-on version and is designed to promote Muslima medical workers’ safety, help them embrace their Muslim identity and encourage help health care organizations to continue becoming more culturally aware, inclusive and welcoming.

The idea behind Mawadda — to create and offer more inclusive products — arose in January 2021. Around March, the two entrepreneurs began working with a Muslim designer to make prototypes, as well as talking with other Muslimas in the medical field. After collecting their stories and opinions, Adam and Samatar embarked on creating several prototypes.

“The designing part was the easy part. What took more time was finding the right material,” Samatar said. She went on to outline how they found the right material by listening to respiratory therapists, nurses, pharmacists, surgeons and doctors’ opinions on what features a safe, practical and satisfactory product had to include.

As being able to offer a disposable hijab that was up to medical standards was essential, they focus-group tested their prototypes and received feedback from those who wore them to learn which ones were the most appropriate.

Seeking a manufacturer to bring their envisaged product to life, they found a manufacturer in New York. The next challenge was to familiarize themselves with FDA terminology and regulations and obtain FDAcertification for, according to Adam, “We were trying to produce something that’s FDA compliant and is also comfortable to wear.”

They set about learning the relevant information. Adam stated that, “For us, [we just needed] level one [certification] so we [had] to find something to compare it to… we [compared] it to hairnets.”

As respiratory therapists working in the medical field, they had a lot to learn about starting a business. But they persevered, knowing how important it is for Muslimas to feel safe and valued while observing their religion on the job.

“We’re trying to push for cultural inclusivity and awareness [and having] a safe space for Muslim women to feel like their presence is valued in the system, as well as promoting infection prevention and patient satisfaction by having more projects that are more centered for diversity inclusion,” explained Adam.

“It was hard, but what pushed us is knowing how much we needed this in [a health care setting],” Samatar admits.

Finally, after multiple redesigns and obtaining the necessary FDA approvals, they officially launched Mawadda last November.

In their quest for promoting cultural awareness, Mawadda makes PPE for Muslimas to help them strengthen and embrace their Muslim identity. Health care institutions buy PPE products for their medical workers but may be unaware of their Muslima medical staff’s specific needs. Samatar and Adam hope that these organizations will buy their products to create a more culturally sensitive and inclusive environment.

As Muslima entrepreneurs, they hope to inspire other community members to address similar needs and initiate change for themselves and the community. As Samatar remarks, “If you see a problem that you or somebody else is facing, then you can come up with solutions because there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be fixed in this world.”

They urge young Muslimas to be proud of their identity and to act upon it, to embrace rather than hide it, for a strong identity enables one to remedy that which hinders them, solve problems and inspire change. The changes that they will bring about by their combined identity and passion will impact the world.

Mawadda is currently looking for more new products to create. “We are a Muslim medical clothing company, so we have more things that we will launch, like skirts and [other highly requested] modest wear,” Adam states.

The “Hygienic Hijab” became a reality thanks to these two Muslimas who fulfilled an unmet on-the-job need while preserving their modesty and adhering to their religious values. As time goes on, Adam and Samatar plan to continue promoting safety, cultural awareness and inclusivity, and inspire other Muslims to make lasting change through Mawadda. ih

Rabiyah Syed, a student at Naperville Central (Ill.), loves photography and aspires to be a speech pathologist.