Zainab Alema: 'Life's too short - we all need to pursue our dreams'

Zainab Alema is a trailblazer in more ways than one.

The prop, 32, recently won ‘Moment of the Week’ when she became the first Premiership Women’s Rugby player to wear a hijab as she stepped out for Leicester Tigers’ clash with Gloucester-Hartpury.

Scoring a try was the cherry on top for the mother-of-three’s PWR debut outing, but it also marked the first stepping stone towards pursuing a lifelong dream of donning the Red Roses jersey.

“It was just an incredible moment for me," she said. "I remember being in the changing rooms thinking ‘this is it, this is your dreams coming true right now’.

“I always wear a scrum cap but I made sure I ran out without it on so people could see my sports hijab. I didn’t feel much pressure because I knew I’d worked so hard to get there and just wanted to get stuck in.

“I’m so grateful to Leicester Tigers for giving me the opportunity to wear the shirt. Life at Tigers has been amazing, I always joke I’m just happy to be here but it’s true, it’s something I’ve wanted for so long.”

Moment of the Week from Round 1 was @AlemaZainab 🫶

Inclusivity is crucial to PWR so we were delighted to see Zee (to her friends) become the first woman to play in a PWR match while wearing a hijab.#PWR | #PoweredDifferently pic.twitter.com/jl1qtLmMpj

— Premiership Women's Rugby (@ThePWR) October 8, 2024

Alema’s first taste of rugby came at school aged 14, eventually leading her to train with Ealing Trailfinders U18s, but her journey was not without hurdles.

“When I first started playing, I didn’t really notice I was the only black Muslim girl playing but when I got to university it was a lot more in my face. That weighed a lot on my mind,” said the British-Ghanian.

“It was difficult to navigate that time and I questioned ‘how can I be a muslim woman and a rugby player?’. I’d never had that representation or known anyone who had done it before me.”

This lack of representation initially made Alema hesitant about her future in the sport but former Red Roses and Saracens star Maggie Alphonsi acted as the perfect role model to dispel any doubts.

“There was a time where I felt like rugby wasn’t for me. I didn’t see a space for myself or feel like I belonged in the sport,” she said.

“Seeing Maggie, a black woman, smash it at international level, I thought ‘if she can play rugby then I can do it too’. That was a real turning point for me, it kept me in the sport when I might otherwise have left.”

Zainab Alema with a response on her #PWR debut ✅ pic.twitter.com/43bPCtWqeJ

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 6, 2024

Smashing through glass ceilings has become something of a day job for Alema, who’s trailblazing journey began when she attended Middlesex trials just eight weeks after giving birth to her third child.

“I felt like I was losing myself so I took myself to the county trials with my baby in the pram," she said.

"People were like ‘Why is there a baby in the changing room?’. But I didn’t care, I just wanted to feel like myself again.

“Motherhood can consume you, your world revolves around this little person who needs you, but rugby has always given me an added layer. I can be both a mother and a rugby player.”

Alema is a self-declared ‘bulldozer’, a nickname which eventually became a life motto for a player who continues to make a habit of surpassing ‘firsts’ - whether on the field or not.

“In the construction world, bulldozers smash through things and break them down - as a black Muslim woman in rugby I’m metaphorically and physically smashing barriers and stereotypes,” she said.

“It just became something I attach myself to, but I always say it’s not a name just for me. In a male dominated space, especially within rugby, I want to encourage others to find their bulldozer.

“There’s three ingredients: be bold, brave and yourself - that’s the most important ingredient because no one can do you better than you.”

Smashing stereotypes in rugby 🙌

Zainab Alema is the Defender #Trailblazer#Defender | #ENGvRSA | #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/qGwGodXbGF

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 21, 2023

For Alema, inspiring others to find their inner bulldozer ranges from unashamedly storming to victory in the parents' race at her daughter’s school sports day, to openly sharing her journey on social media.

“I do feel a responsibility because I know how important representation was to me," she said.

"I almost stepped away from the sport because I didn’t see it, so with the visibility I have now I know I could be that person for someone else.

“It’s not something I take for granted, I’m very humbled and grateful to be in that position. The message I want to send is for people to believe in themselves, be confident and just go after what they want.”

In true practise what you preach fashion, it was taking a leap of faith that led Alema to press pause on practising as a neonatal nurse and finally make her rugby fairytale a reality.

“I was working during Covid and we had a lot of pregnant mothers who needed to be delivered early by emergency c-section," she said.

"I was looking after one baby and we didn’t know if its mother would live.

“In that moment I thought ‘life is too short, you need to pursue your dreams’. I don’t regret taking that leap of faith one bit. I hope it goes to show that if you stick at something, believe in yourself and work hard, amazing things can happen.”