Jamie Glover wants to see Muslim girls playing sports and being active, not sitting on the sidelines because of uniforms that compromise their religious or cultural beliefs. To help make that happen, the Carlson School M.B.A. candidate and her business partner, Fatimah Hussein, launched Asiya, a line of culturally appropriate athletic wear that will be available this spring. Because of her work with Asiya, Glover was awarded the Sands Fellowship, which is given annually to M.B.A. students pursuing social ventures that have an impact on the Twin Cities.

Why athletic wear?

From the data we’ve seen, Muslim girls participate in sports about half as much as other girls. Being able to remove one barrier—clothing—was a pretty simple idea. I had heard about a group that created custom team uniforms for girls in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. They were looking for a business student to help them with a business plan and then take their products to market. We’ve been working with a group of girls to try out different iterations of sports hijabs.

What do the girls think?

The girls love them. They played a basketball scrimmage wearing them. It was so fun to hear how they didn’t have to worry about their scarves falling off or getting in the way. They could just play the game. 

Why is this important to you? 

For me, it’s about more girls having the opportunity to play sports, and it’s about starting a conversation around inclusion, acceptance, and meeting people where they’re at.