Passion is the Ultimate Form of Fashion

  The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics captivated us with outstanding performances. Women’s figure skating was one of the highlighting moments of the olympics, with each heroes representing their countries. Although, not represented at the Winter Olympics, Zahra Lari is a hero of UAE. She is the first figure skater from UAE to compete internationally, and she changed ISU’s set strict rules.
    Zahra Lari born on March 3, 1995, is an Emirati figure skater, who wears a hijab to represent her religion on ice. She told CNN, "I began skating when I was 12 years old, after watching the Disney movie 'Ice Princess'." She trained at the only rink in Abu Dhabi, located in Zayed Sports City. Her junior international debut was in 2012 at the European Cup. She made history; she was the first Arab woman to skate in front of an international audience and judge panel. Unfortunately, the judges gave her a deduction for an outfit violation, due to safety and rule violating factors. Later, Lari resolved the issue with ISU(International Skating Union). After analyzing the safety of hijabs while performing ice skating elements, ISU later changed the rule, allowing headscarves to be worn during performances.
    Lari’s skating career is continuous. Ever since her debut, she has been competing in various events around the world. According to CNN, Lari claims, "My goals go beyond being the first person to represent the UAE at a Winter Olympics, I want to compete at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and the World Championships. These competitions are my current goal." While persuing her skating career, Lari is also finishing her degree in environment health and safety at Abu Dhabi University.
    No object eclipses passion. Passion and hardwork combined is unbeatable, and furthermore, can change the rules. This also applies to the government. With the government passionate about its country and people, any law is fluctuable. 

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahra_Lari
https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/28/middleeast/zahra-lari-figure-skater/index.html
http://www.abouther.com/node/1546/people/leading-ladies/zahra-lari-ice-princess-hijab​

Zahra Lari