Hijab-wearing acrobat breaks norms in Israel
STORY: This hijab-wearing acrobat is breaking norms in Israel
Location: Deir al-Assad, Israel
Lara Assadi has enjoyed performing on the trapeze since childhood
She now puts on live shows with a local circus group
(Lara Assadi, Contortionist)
"When I was in primary school, in 2nd or 3rd grade and I was very young, there were many activities at school. A circus group performed for us and it is the same group that I am a part of today. I watched the performance and I enjoyed the flexibility performance the most."
Assadi has been criticized for her performances
which some see to be unsuitable to her faith and headdress
"One of the comments that I got a few years ago and I will never forget and is still in my head is that 'you are distorting the image of Islam', or that 'your outfit is not appropriate' and many other comments. I understand my outfit is not perfect and my life is not perfect, if they were perfect I wouldn't be human, I would be an angel. Nobody is perfect and I only represent myself and not a certain category in society."
"I've reached a point where I don't want to stay at this level but I want to keep performing in the circus; I feel like I found myself in the circus. In 10 years I see myself in the same place but in a better level of performance."
