Björn Borg awards scholarship to girl dreaming of becoming first hijab-wearing ballerina

Sports brand decides to help after being 'genuinely inspired' by teen’s story

Stephanie Kurlow, the girl who longed to become the world's first hijab-wearing ballerina, is now closer to her dream than ever as she was awarded a scholarship by Björn Borg.

Sports fashion brand Björn Borg has announced it was moved to help 14-year-old Australian student Stephanie Kurlow after being “genuinely inspired” by the teen’s story.



The sports brand released an inspiring video of Kurlow saying, "Love to stand out. Live to change the world." The video ends with the words, "Happy Valentine's day, Stephanie. Keep dancing."

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB

On her LaunchGood campaign page, Kurlow said, "In this day and age, there is a lack of facilitation for youth who are disengaged or of a different religion or race."

"I plan on bringing the world together by becoming the very first Muslim Ballerina so that I can inspire so many other people to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams. My dream is to train in a full-time ballet school catered to aspiring young girls who want to train 30-45 hours a week so they can become a professional ballerina. I want to encourage everyone to join together, no matter what faith, race or colour and I hope to live in a world with greater acceptance,” she added.


Stephanie Kurlow, who had been performing on stage since she was two-years-old, quit ballet after she and her family converted to Islam six years ago. Kurlow said that she couldn’t find a school who would accept her wearing a hijab to class.

While she had encountered some negative feedback online, particularly from strict followers of Islam who believe dancing is haram or forbidden, Stephanie remained committed to her goals.

https://www.instagram.com/p/1xbg6cB1La/

Way to go, Stephanie!