Two Muslim Women Work to Empower Others in Unconventional Sports

Kulsoom Abdullah persuaded USA Weightlifting, and later the International Weightlifting Federation, to modify their dress codes, allowing Muslim women to compete while wearing a headscarf.

Kulsoom Abdullah's website, LiftingCovered.com, documents her weightlifting journey and her advocacy role in changing the sport's dress code to clothing that adheres to Muslim religious codes.

Kulsoom Abdullah, 38, who comes from a very conservative area of Pakistan, became interested in recreational weightlifting in her early 20s.

Kulsoom Abdullah's website, LiftingCovered.com, documents her weightlifting journey and her advocacy role in changing the sport's dress code to clothing that adheres to Muslim religious codes.

Mariam Shareefy founded AERCS (Afghanistan's Entrepreneurship and Rock Climbing School), a nonprofit organization that uses rock climbing as a tool to develop young entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.

Mariam Shareefy, climbing on the left, practices in a rock-climbing gym in Boulder, Colorado, Aug. 8, 2016.

Mariam Shareefy, of Boulder, Colorado, founded AERCS (Afghanistan's Entrepreneurship and Rock Climbing School), a nonprofit organization that uses rock climbing as a tool to develop young entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.

Mariam Shareefy rock climbs in Afghanistan.