Meet Zainab Alema, the Muslim woman breaking down barriers in rugby: 'I want to inspire young girls'
Zainab Alema pictured at Old Sessions House in London ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup final in September 2025.
Rugby is a male sport, a man’s sport, an elitist sport — those were the words of Zainab Alema’s father when she first told him that she had fallen in love with the sport.
For those who are not yet familiar with the woman rewriting women’s rugby, let me introduce you.
A trailblazer in rugby, Alema is breaking down stereotypes and cultural norms within the sport. As a black Muslim woman, mother, grassroots rugby advocate, volunteer, and a former neonatal nurse, she challenges the status quo.
Alema, who had no idea what rugby was until she was introduced to it during a PE class in school, has gone on to become the first Muslim woman in a hijab to play and score in England’s top-tier women’s rugby union division, the Premiership — not only making her father proud, but marking a cultural milestone.
I met Alema ahead of last September’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham, where England took victory over Canada in a historic game that attracted a crowd of 81,885 — the second-highest attendance for a Rugby World Cup final, men’s or women’s.
Touching on how she first discovered rugby, she talked about the role two female PE teachers played.
“I had the opportunity to play because of my PE teachers,” she says, “They’re both women, and I think that’s a positive because it’s seen as a male-dominated sport, but to have two women who are PE teachers who influenced me getting into sport is huge.”
Recounting her family’s reaction when she told them she had taken an interest in rugby, she says her father could not wrap his head around why his Muslim daughter wanted to play.
“He was like, ‘Rugby is a male sport, it’s a man sport, it’s an elitist sport’, and he just couldn’t understand. But I think because he didn’t say no, I just continued to play,” she says.
“I think he saw how much joy it brought me and how passionate I was about rugby.
“Now he’s just so proud. He puts everything I do in all the group chats, and he sends it to all his friends, ‘Look at my daughter doing this’... Because I’ve got six sisters, people will be like, ‘oh, the one that plays rugby’. That’s how I’m known, as the rugby one, which is quite nice. I like that.”
Alema’s journey reflects a commitment to changing perceptions and making a positive impact in the world of sports, becoming the first black, Muslim woman in a hijab to play and score in England’s top-tier women’s rugby union division, the Premiership, donning the Leicester Tigers jersey against Gloucester-Hartpury.
The score wasn’t just a personal triumph; it was a cultural milestone. The try was more than a sporting feat; it was a statement.
“I remember being in the changing room, buzzing. We were about to go out. Walking through the tunnel, I thought, ‘this is it. I’m going to make history as soon as I get out of this tunnel’,” she says.
“The feeling was just incredible. I scored a try as well… I don’t think I could have had a better debut. It’s one [thing] to make history, it’s one to play in a premiership, and it’s another thing to also score on your debut.”
She says that she still gets goosebumps when she thinks about the moment she scored that try, and the reaction that followed.
“Hearing young fathers with girls like, ‘we saw you on TV’, and they were just so proud, and for me, that’s the impact I want to make,” she says.
“I want to inspire young girls and young boys as well, like anyone really, to just go after what they want in life and achieve their goals.”
Speaking about her nickname on the pitch, ‘bulldozer’, she explains that it is a self-made nickname which is a metaphor for who she is: A black, Muslim woman in rugby, smashing stereotypes and breaking down barriers as a bulldozer would.
“It’s not just about breaking things and smashing things, it’s about building things and paving the way for something bigger and better,” she says. “I talk about the three ingredients to being a bulldozer: Being bold, being brave, but also being yourself.
“Ultimately, no one can do you better than you. I really like the word authenticity, and I think if you can be your authentic self in any space, hopefully that will shine through, and people can get to know you for who you really are.”
Alema’s goal is to encourage underrepresented groups, women of colour, and Muslim women to get involved in rugby and to shine a light on the many roles that exist within the sport, not just in a playing capacity.
“I don’t want to be the only one. I just want to look around and not be the only one anymore… I know rugby has given me so much, and I just want other people to realise that it can give them a lot as well,” she says.
Her ultimate ambition? To make it to the very top of the game and wear her hijab with an England kit.
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