I interviewed basketball player and poet Asma Elbadawi about her journey to body confidence and staying true to herself for the March 2021 issue of Women’s Health. Rising star Asma has become an influential voice in the world of sport, taking the challenges she’s faced as a female Muslim basketball player and turning them into worldwide triumphs. She successfully overturned the International Basketball Federation’s ban on religious headgear in professional basketball, using her influence to shatter glass ceilings and fight for female empowerment.
Away from the court, Asma’s powerfully written poems are making an impact, too. Belongings, her debut poetry collection, casts a spotlight on inclusivity and identity as she writes candidly about her experience as a Sudanese-British woman, as well as her passion for sport. Here, the basketball-playing poet shares her journey to self-confidence and how she learned to embrace what makes her unique.