26-year-old Majiziya Bhanu from Kerala is breaking stereotypes as she is Indian woman bodybuilder with a hijab. Bhanu is a final-year BDS student at Mahe Institute of Dental Sciences, hailing from Orkkatteri in Kozhikode.
Started With Boxing
In 2016, Bhanu took an interest in Boxing but left later on as she was not allowed to enter the boxing ring wearing braces.
Then, Bhanu decided to focus on powerlifting. Bhanu was declared the ‘Strong Woman of Kerala’ thrice. Moreover, she also got a silver medal in the Asian Powerlifting Championship in 2017. In an interview with NDTV, Bhanu said:
“I got into bodybuilding accidentally. It was my fiance who encouraged me. I was initially hesitant about bodybuilding because I thought I will have to expose my body. But fiance showed me photographs of muslim women with hijab, into bodybuilding from countries like Egypt. And I thought I can do this too.”
Woman Bodybuilder with a Hijab is a proud thing
Bhanu concluded: “I don’t defy my religion as I cover my body. I am quite confident about attending more powerlifting championships in future. I want to start an academy for powerlifting to facilitate children in my native village to get training in powerlifting.The clothes were never a problem as the judges were experienced enough to assess a clothed person’s build.”
