For many of us pole dancing is something that we associate with strip clubs and bars. It is the ultimate no no when it comes to our daughters. It is deemed immodest and maybe even “too western” for our liking.
However, for some, pole dancing is seen as a sport, and a way to test your physical strength.
32-year-old Neda is a nurse practitioner by day and athlete committed to her love of the art of pole by night. Living in North Hollywood, California, Neda just happens to be a Muslim woman who wears the hijab.
Here is the beautiful Neda demonstrating how most people react to her love of the pole.
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In just under 2 years, Neda’s Instagram page (@hijabiluscious) has gained over 18.6K followers!
She always updates her feed with photos and videos of her progress on the pole and her captions always tells some sort of story. Some are hilarious and others hit home!
In a 2018 interview, she answered pretty much any question that you would have about pole dancing:
Interviewer: How did you get started with pole?
Neda: “I’m a competitive swimmer. It’s what I’ve been doing for years. I used to compete and train all the time. Then one day after training for a really intense race, I just wanted to take a break from swimming. I figured I’d try something new, so I looked at a class pass I had and saw a free trial at a pole studio.”
She went on to explain how she entered the class thinking it was some sort of joke and that she would be laughed at by others. However, contrary to her beliefs that didn’t happen. Instead, the people she was surrounded by were “so welcoming”. She further explained that she didn’t feel awkward and that it was a body positive environment. Neda even shared that she has a silicone pole in her house!
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Interviewer: How have you dealt with backlash from people who see pole as a contradiction to the hijab?
Neda: “I started wearing the hijab when I was 21, and I got a lot of backlash for that. I started doing pole a year ago and got backlash for that. So, I just figured that a Muslim woman is going to get backlash no matter what she does.”
Neda further explained that the internet can be a hostile environment for women and Muslim women especially.
Neda went on to say: “Even though I respect exotic dance, I don’t feel like anything I’m doing is sexual or in contradiction with my hijab. I’m just trying to get a workout in and do some acrobatic shit in my own home.”
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Interviewer: What have you come to love most about pole?
Neda: “Pole is challenging me in a way that I had never felt before. It feels like extreme yoga. You have to have a lot of awareness of how your body moves, and pole is really helping me learn that. It’s hard, but it’s teaching me how capable my body is and that if I just listen to it and be patient with it, it can do some really incredible stuff.”
Here is Neda showing us how it’s done (read the caption😂) !
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Interviewer: Do you have a message for your Muslim women followers?
Neda: “We associate a lot of bodily autonomy in women as related to relationships and sexuality. And while that’s very important, there are ways of grasping that bodily autonomy in a non-sexual way as well. So if you find something that does that for you — like pole — go for it, even if people don’t approve. But I don’t really post or do pole for a bigger message. If you like my journey, then I’m happy to share it with you. But I do this for me first.”
So, what do you ladies think? Is this empowering? Would you allow your daughters to partake in pole dancing classes? Is this something you would try out?
Let us know what you think!
I am laughing but in shock but I don’t know how to feel… Just sitting here with my mouth hanging open hahahahahaha