Weightlifting body changes dress code, benefits Muslim woman

Kulsoom Abdullah wants to keep her body covered during official competitionsThe International Weightlifting Federation modifies its rulesRules now specify outfits can be full-body, tight-fitted unitard

Atlanta (CNN) -- The International Weightlifting Federation has modified its rules and will allow athletes to wear a full-body, tight-fitted unitard during competition, the group said.

Wednesday's rule change was prompted by an Atlanta woman, who wanted to take part in competitions governed by IWF rules but still adhere to the modest dress of her Muslim faith.

"Weightlifting is an Olympic Sport open for all athletes to participate without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter and values," Tamas Ajan, IWF president, said Wednesday. "This rule modification has been considered in the spirit of fairness, equality and inclusion."

Before the change, the IWF's technical and competition rules said weightlifting outfits -- officially called "costumes" -- had to be collarless and not cover the elbows or knees.

Abdullah, a 35-year-old with a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, is not an Olympic athlete, but enjoys lifting weights.

She generally wears loose, long pants past the ankles, a long-sleeve, fitted shirt with a loose T-shirt over it, and a hijab, or head scarf, covering her hair.

"It's what I believe in. It's what I've chosen to do," Abdullah told CNN this month about her decision to wear modest garb. "I've always dressed this way publicly."

She can deadlift 245 pounds (111 kg) and get up 105 pounds (47.5 kg) in the snatch, in which the competitor lifts the barbell from the floor to over her head in a single motion. She likes to compete with other women in her weight class -- she generally weighs in the 106-pound (48 kg) or 117-pound (53 kg) classifications.

"It guess it's empowering," she says. "There's a lot of technique involved, so someone who's this big muscular person -- it's possible I could lift more than they do. There's speed and timing to it -- you have to be explosive. I think it's great just for confidence building ... I guess I got hooked."

The review was prompted by the Atlanta resident wanting to take part in tournaments in the United States, including one coming up in July. But USA Weightlifting informed her that those events are governed by IWF rules, which at that time precluded her dressing in keeping with her beliefs.

Abdullah says she understands the need to make sure she isn't wearing anything under her clothes to give her a competitive advantage. She says judges could check to make sure she is not wearing something on her elbows, for example, that might help her.

Numerous athletic agencies have faced similar questions in the past and, in some cases, have determined that allowing special clothing violates fairness or equality among all contestants.

FIFA, the international federation governing soccer, recently refused to allow Iran's women's soccer team to wear headscarves while playing in an Olympic qualifying round in Amman, Jordan.

Abdullah told CNN her effort is not just about herself. "I should at least try," she said, "if not for me then maybe for other women who -- if they have my faith or another faith -- dress a certain way."

CNN's Josh Levs contributed to this report

CNN

With Shutdown Near, Federal Workers Face Layoffs, Jobless Benefits

FoxNews.com

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If the federal government shuts down Friday night, more than 2 million federal workers across the country are facing temporary layoffs or no paychecks. Yet for the 800,000 workers who would be laid off -- deemed non-essential -- they can file for unemployment benefits.

By midday, most federal employees had been told whether they have been deemed essential or would be temporarily laid off. But exactly when they can file for benefits and the amount they receive depends on the state where they work.

Contrary to popular belief, about 85 percent of federal workers work outside of Washington. Many of them are concentrated in Maryland, Virginia, California, Texas, Florida and New York.

In Maryland, where there are 262,000 federal workers, they qualify for unemployment benefits from the first day of a shutdown, and could get a maximum of $430 a week.

Mike Raia, spokesman for the state Department of Labor, said the division has plans in place to handle additional claims.

"If the shutdown happens on Friday, there will be an application up on that site early next week, either Monday or Tuesday, that will allow federal employees to file their claim online," he said.

It takes a week for federal employees in Virginia and D.C. to qualify. The top benefit in Washington is $359, and $378 in Virginia.

There's a one-week waiting period in California, where there are 254,100 federal government workers, 62,000 of them in the Department of Defense. The top benefit is $450.

Kevin Callori, spokesman for the state Employment Development Department, told FoxNews.com that the department is not doing anything "out of the ordinary" in the event of a flood of claims due to a prolonged shutdown.

"We've gotten used to that with the current recession," he said. "We have staff available. We should be able to handle that."

New York, which has 130,000 federal workers, also said it was ready for a shutdown.

"A federal government shutdown will not impact New York's ability to disburse regular, extended and emergency unemployment benefits to claimants," Leo Rosales, spokesman for the state Department of Labor, told FoxNews.com.

In Texas, there are about 200,000 federal employees who can apply for benefits as soon as shutdown occurs. The maximum benefit is $415.

In Florida, the federal government's 175,000 workers can apply for benefits immediately. The top benefit is $275.

It's not yet clear which workers get to stay on the job during a shutdown. Under long-standing federal rules, agencies would not be affected that provide for U.S. national security, dispense most types of federal benefit payments, offer inpatient medical care or outpatient emergency care, ensure the safe use of food and drugs, manage air traffic, protect and monitor borders and coastlines, guard prisoners, conduct criminal investigations and law enforcement, oversee power distribution and oversee banks.

Mail deliveries would continue in the event of a shutdown. U.S. postal operations are not subsidized by tax dollars.

In Washington, 21,000 employees have been deemed essential and are expected to work. That includes police officers, firefighters and emergency officials as well as officials who work in public health and with school-age children. Notifications were going out Friday afternoon to employees.

Non-essential employees won't be able to come to work, volunteer or use their government-issued Blackberries.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the nation's largest federal union, filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over the looming shutdown, arguing that ordering federal employees to work without pay during a shutdown violates the U.S. Constitution.

"Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be required to work during a shutdown, and there's no guarantee that Congress will keep the administration's promise to pay those employees once the shutdown is over," AFGE National President John Gage said in a statement.

Capital News Service's Laura E. Lee and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Fewer Sought Jobless Benefits Last Week, in Sign of Slowing Layoffs

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WASHINGTON -- Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs are dropping and companies may be stepping up hiring. 

The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people seeking benefits dipped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 for the week that ended March 26. That's the second decline in three weeks. 

Applications near 375,000 or below are consistent with a sustained increase in hiring. 

Applications peaked during the recession at 659,000. 

The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, rose to 394,250. Still, that figure has dropped by 35,500, or 8 percent, in the past eight weeks. 

The department also revised the previous five years of data. The changes showed that applications in recent weeks were moderately higher than previously reported. 

As applications have fallen, hiring has started to pick up. Economists forecast that employers added a net total of 185,000 jobs in March. That would be just below February's gain of 192,000 -- the most jobs added in nearly a year. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.9 percent. 

The March data will be released Friday. 

Still, hiring must rise by about 300,000 per month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate, economists say. The economy has gained more than a million jobs in the past year but still has 7.5 million fewer jobs than before the recession. 

The number of people collecting benefits also dropped. It fell by 51,000 to 3.7 million in the week ending March 19, the latest data available. But that doesn't include millions of people receiving aid under the emergency unemployment benefit programs put in place during the recession. 

All told, 8.8 million people received unemployment benefits in the week ending March 12, the latest data available. That's slightly higher than the previous week.

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