Muslim Women Open Door For More Female-Only Fitness Spaces In The Twin Cities

Muslim Women Open Door For More Female-Only Fitness Spaces In The Twin Cities

Two such fitness clubs launched in the Twin Cities last summer and another is on the horizon to meet the needs of Muslim women who want spaces where they can work out with or without a hijab.

As a teen growing up in Maryland and New York, Fatma Sheekh played soccer and tennis. Later on, her uncle introduced her to the art of boxing. Working out as a young adult gave her “consistency and clarity,” she says.

After the death of her uncle, Sheekh reintroduced herself to a fitness regime in 2022, starting with memberships at Life Time Fitness and Title Boxing Club in Edina. She was energized by this fresh beginning but felt out of place.

“I was like, this is it. I’m going to work out. I’m going to get healthy and get myself back on track, mentally and physically. I went to Life Time, and for the first time in my life, I was completely lost. I didn’t know where to begin,” Sheekh says.

Sheekh’s journey back into fitness led her to launch the Hawa Women’s Health Club in 2024. The club rents space at three local gyms and offers a range of classes, from boxing to strength training to barre.

Hawa is one of a growing number of Twin Cities fitness clubs that cater to Muslim women by offering women-only spaces where they can work out without having to maintain a hijab, along with opportunities to build friendships and connections.

Owners of Hawa, Hers Fitness in Minneapolis and Miriam Fitness Gym in Burnsville say they’re seeing a burst of interest by Muslim women pursuing their health goals, including interest in activities such as weight-lifting, boxing, strength training and self defense.

Miriam Mongare, who opened a women-only gym four years ago, said clients have told her they feel safer and more at ease in the space. And it’s drawn women who have never worked out in a gym before.

A growing demand

When she walked into Life Time in 2022, Sheekh’s unfamiliarity with the machines made her reconsider solo fitness. So, she decided to give classes at the gym a try.

“All of the classes are mixed. It’s either being taught by a male or there’s a male member in there. And it was difficult because, you know, I’m covered up, and I can’t really push myself to the extent that I would like, because I felt really restricted in this space,” Sheekh says.

Sheekh decided to research what fitness center owners in the Twin Cities might be open to hosting a women-only workout space.

“I started calling studios. I talked to people at Life Time, I called gyms all over to ask if they would consider doing women-only classes, or women-only anything, really, just even a couple of times a month and I was met with the same answer. It was always a ‘no,’” Sheekh says.

“I thought to myself, the world is massive, it’s huge. So it doesn’t make sense that there isn’t space for everyone. It’s big enough for there to be space for everyone to have a place in it.”

Sheekh figured that she probably wasn’t alone in her experience of wanting a fitness space that she could navigate and feel liberated in. She launched a survey gauging interest for more female-centered fitness spaces that she distributed on social media and to online groups that were composed of Muslim women.

The responses were overwhelmingly positive, with many women asking how soon the space would open. That told Sheekh there was an unmet need in the community.

“Immediately I thought to myself, I’m going to open a fitness center for women. I’m just going to do it. I had no idea where I was going to start. I don’t have resources or money or anything. Little by little, I started researching. I did a program at St. Thomas [in] entrepreneurship and business management.”

In August 2024, Sheekh took the plunge and founded Hawa Women’s Health Club.

Hawa offers a suite of fitness activities across three different locations. It has strength and training classes in Plymouth on Mondays, including high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) and barre. Free self-defense classes are in the queue for this location too, says Sheekh.

Yoga and monthly wellness workshops can be found in Hawa’s Minneapolis location on Saturdays, and boxing is offered at Title Boxing in Edina on Saturdays and Sundays.

“Title Boxing was one of the places I experienced boxing when my uncle was alive. Title Boxing was the first place that I reached out to. I’ve been working with some amazing people here in management and they’ve been incredible. When I told them what I was doing, they were completely on board,” Sheekh says.

Jamie Anderson recently became an assistant manager at the Title Boxing location in Edina. As one of her first assignments, she worked with Sheekh to create a welcoming space for Muslim women to train at the gym.

“It’s such a moving experience for me to get to be part of this and to see women be more free and get to do something they want to do. I asked my manager, ‘Can I be part of this all the time?’ And he’s like, ‘Great.’ We needed somebody to be that liaison for Title and Fatma. I feel so blessed that I get to be in that role now,” Anderson says.

Building muscle — and community

Heba Eid, 27, was born in Germany to Egyptian parents and moved to Minnesota when she was 9. Eid’s fitness journey, like Sheekh’s, also started with some trepidation in 2019.

“I was absolutely terrified of something called ‘The gym.’ I didn’t know how to use machines. I felt so uncomfortable in there. So I actually started working out just in the comfort of my own home. And then when I finally got to a point where I’m like, ‘Okay, I want to explore weightlifting more.’ I need[ed] weights [and] I started stepping into the gym,” Eid said.

Though Eid noticed the benefits of weightlifting in the gym, she felt something was missing.

“While I gained so much physically, mentally, even emotionally, at some points, there was always something that was missing for me — friendships, the people supporting each other. So after having a few conversations, I looked in Minnesota trying to find a women-only space that not only was [where] you can get a workout in, but really focus on building that community. I really couldn’t find one. So that’s where Hers Fitness was born,” Eid said.

Hers Fitness, launched in August 2024, offers a range of classes including HIIT, strength training, Zumba and belly-dancing, and Eid says she’s working to introduce boxing. She rents space from Studio TimeOut in Minneapolis on Saturdays and Sundays for classes.

Eid said Muslim women have many reasons to begin strength training and focus on their fitness.

“I know a big topic that comes up a lot is wanting to be able to feel safe. If for some reason something happens, they’re able to take care of themselves if they are alone. That is something that I’ve heard over and over and over again, which is a huge thing for women in general, just wanting to be able to feel safe, take care of yourself,” Eid says.

New interest in weight lifting

Mongare, 33, is a Kenyan-born fitness coach who opened her women-only gym — Miriam Fitness Gym, in 2020. Now located in Burnsville, Mongare’s gym is one of very few full-time women-only fitness spaces in Minnesota. Although Mongare herself is not Muslim, nearly 95% of her clients are.

Mongare says that she has witnessed a growing number of Muslim women getting into weight lifting and she believes availability of women-only fitness spaces helps encourage that growth.

“There’s an increase of women coming to do weight lifting or just wanting to learn about weight lifting. They’re learning that weight lifting is not the way it’s sometimes portrayed online, where they say, ‘Oh, you’re going to look like a man if you do it.’ They’re learning that it’s really good, especially for women that are older, that it’s good for their health as they grow older,” Mongare says.

Mongare, Eid, and Sheekh say they also hope to see more women-only fitness centers — and in permanent, not part-time spaces. Eid and Sheekh both say they are working towards owning their own locations.

An intergenerational fitness center

A fourth women-only fitness center is also on the horizon.

St. Paul boxer Amaiya Zafar, 24, made headlines in 2016 when she was disqualified from the Sugar Bert Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., for wearing a hijab and clothing that covered her arms and legs under her boxing gear. Subsequently in 2017, Zafar was allowed to compete with her hijab and hijab-compliant clothing due to a religious exemption by USA Boxing.

Zafar’s next venture in partnership with her father Humayun Zafar, is Ummah Fit, a gym set to open later this year at Zawadi Center in Bloomington. Ummah Fit will be a women-only fitness space offering classes that target different muscle groups on a rotating schedule. To accommodate an intergenerational community, child care will be provided, Zafar says.

“When you walk in, in your classes, to the way we say goodbye at the end of the day, I want to be so specific to us. There’s not a lot of spaces that are truly inclusive, accessible and safe as a Muslim woman,” Zafar says.

“My goal is a space that is empowering, uplifting, and inclusive for many of us who have been overlooked in the fitness and athletic world,” she says. “… The goal is to strengthen not just the body, but the soul. We want everything to be grounded in purpose and community.”

SOURCE: Sahan Journal