Manal is the founder of the renowned Facebook Group: Surviving Hijab
Manal is the founder of the renowned Facebook Group: Surviving Hijab, a one – million, women’s-only, closed group on Facebook that helps defy stereotypes and empower women who choose to wear the hijab as a sign of faith.
The group was awarded the Facebook’s Community Leadership Award by Facebook in 2019, after being recognised as one of the largest groups on Facebook currently present to shatter stereotypes, support minorities and underrepresented communities worldwide.
Manal led an all – women Everest Base Camp trip in March 2019 and Mt Kilimanjaro Hike in August 2021 to raise awareness about tolerance, inclusivity & equality for all women
The platform now has over 1 million female members on Facebook and 170,000 followers on Instagram.
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Surviving Hijab: An interview with Manal Rostom
Manal Rostom is the first Muslim Hijabi woman to become a model and a coach for Nike and the first Arab woman to step foot into Nike’s headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Manal is also the first Egyptian Muslim Hijabi woman to climb two of the seven summits the highest in Africa & Europe: Kilimanjaro and Elbrus, as well as reaching Everest Base Camp and attempting the second highest mountain in the world, Aconcagua.
The trip was Manal Rostom's idea as part of the Facebook Community Leadership Award Program.
Global Initiative Surviving Hijab Holds First Summit
Women can’t catch a break. Whether it’s a Hijab or a Bikini, it seems that all anyone can talk or think about is how women dress, act, or even breathe. Coming face to face with the common, often belittling perception of Hijabi women as ‘oppressed’, ‘backwards’ and generally ‘uncool’, prominent athlete and Nike’s first Hijab Ambassador Manal Rostom launched Surviving Hijab in 2013 as a platform where Hijabis can share their particular struggles, going on from there to be a community gathering over 600K members on Facebook, who in 2018 recognised the group among the top 100 most influential Facebook groups in the world.
More than 900,000 women are supporting one another to overcome hardship
On March 25, 2019, a group of 14 women raised a banner reading “Surviving Hijab” over Mount Everest base camp.1 The women who made the eight-day trek up the mountain’s south face were members of the Surviving Hijab Facebook group, a community created by Manal Rostom, a 40-year old Egyptian online influencer, marathon runner, and freelancer who is based in Dubai.
Manal Rostom: Nike's 'hijab survivor'
Egyptian athlete Manal Rostom made waves in 2015, appearing in a Nike advert wearing a hijab. After running the Berlin Marathon she told DW what inspired her to insist that Nike feature Muslim women in its campaigns.
This past weekend, Manal Rostom ran the Berlin Marathon wearing a hijab. Many Muslim girls admire her brassy approach toward changing attitudes regarding the traditional Muslim head covering, while others have criticized her for advocating a piece of clothing considered oppressive. Rostom spoke with DW about some of her challenges and successes.
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