Asma Elbadawi


Asma Elbadwai is a Sudanese-British spoken word poet, activist, basket ball player and a coach. She is known to have petitioned and succeeded in convincing the International Basketball Association to remove a ban on hijabs and religious headwear in the professional sport.

Early years and education

Elbadwai was born in Sudan but raised in the United Kingdom. Her family moved to Bradford, West Yorkshire when she was a baby. She holds a bachelor's degree in Photography, Video and Digital Imaging as well as a master's in Visual Arts.

Career

Elbadwai began her career in sports while she was schooling in the University. She is a member of the Bradford Cobras basketball club.
In 2017, she petitioned the International Basketball Federation to remove their ban on religious headwear on the court. After over two years of campaigning to FIBA, she and her friends succeeded in getting 130,000 people to sign an online petition, and that resulted in the FIBA reversing their decision.
Aside sports, Elbadwai has made strides as a spoken word poet. Her poems mostly creates awareness about vital social issues. In 2017, to mark Women’s Sport Week, a poem she wrote about being a female muslim basketball player was featured on the BBC.

Awards