A young British Muslim woman has opened a gym where women can take off their hijab safely while exercising.

“I think it is just more comfortable for me, I don’t need to worry about the placing of my headscarf or my clothing,” Hafsah, 19, told BBC.

Hafsah started a women-only gym class in Southampton, so she and other women can exercise without having to worry about the hijab.

As a Muslim woman, she chose to wear hijab and would like to remove it while exercising without worrying about men.

The class attracts up to 15 women each week, including non-Muslims.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations.

According to Sport England, only 18 percent of Muslim women take part in sport, compared to 30 percent of the total female population.

And five years before the figures were as low as 12 percent – indicating a rise in Muslim women taking up sport and fitness.

In contrast, the figures for Muslim men taking part in sport do not fall below the average for British men as a whole.