the muslimah swim dilemma

many pools that provide women-only time is becoming more common,
but even when swimming among other sisters
you’re supposed to have your awra covered.

some definitions awra or awrah i found online:
“The part of a person’s body that must be covered before everybody but a spouse;
for men this is from navel to knee, for women from upper chest to knee.
It may also be used to refer to what must be concealed of a woman before non-related men”
source: muhajabah.com glossary

another definition:
“parts of the body that are not supposed to be exposed to others.
For men this is from the navel to the knee.
For the women it is all of her body except the hands, feet, and face.”
source: islamicity.com glossary

so, i’ve been looking into something like this:

Dolfin Aquatard Womens - $55 at sportsauthtority.com
or

BluKuda - Adult Unisex UV Swim Suit - $56 at alexandme.com

i can do these, in certain situations, of course.

but what about at the public pool?
swimsuits for muslimahs have been out there,
but, to me, most of them look like colorfully busy track suits.
e.g.

Swim Suit 400411 - $76 at jelbab.com

ummm, i don’t prefer it
and can only imagine getting water-logged.

with this hot summer
apparently sisters have been discussing the muslimah swim dilemma,
especially, i’m assuming, mothers with children
who want to take their children AND get in the pool with them.

last summer, i looked on while ishaq and sanaa had fun in the water.
i wanna go, too!
actually, i had to look on from outside of the fence because
in order to even get in the pool area you had to go through some water sprayers.

a sister sent a link to ahiida.com
and i’m starting to feel like i’ll be able to get in the water soon.

ahiida modest fit swimwear - AUD$175 at ahiida.com

the slim fit design — which i still think is modest - is only slightly less pricey at AUD$155:

neither of the above design includes the “required” aiihda hijood headgear,
which probably cost an additional AUD$50,
but i can see myself in this
IN the water
without feeling too weird
amongst a whole bunch of half-naked people.

---

Muslim Athletic Wear Covers Skin Without Cramping Style
Jennifer Cutraro
for National Geographic News
April 27, 2006

The design of most modern sportswear puts many Muslim women athletes in a curious bind: adhere to their faith and have their motions hampered or compromise their beliefs in the name of athletic performance?

The Koran requires women to cover everything except their faces, hands, and feet, says Tayyibah Taylor, editor-in-chief of Azizah Magazine, a publication geared toward Muslim-American women…
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0427_060424_muslim_sports.html