A Grade 3 teacher with a passion for kickboxing is one of 13 Edmontonians featured in a new calendar celebrating local Muslim women.

Noreen Bashir will be seen in the calendar wearing boxing gloves and a sports hijab at the gym where she works out almost everyday. The martial arts champion first took up the sport as a way to exercise while recovering from a car accident.

"I've ... never been part of any kind of project like that before especially in our community and I'm actually very proud to represent the Muslim women of Edmonton," said Bashir.

The calendar is the brainchild of local photographer and filmmaker Shazia Javed. The women featured in the calendar were nominated by the local Muslim community and include medical students at the University of Alberta, a local youth worker and a pizzeria owner who raised triplets on her own. Some, but not all, wear head coverings.

"I chose the women which represented a wide spectrum," Javed said. "To me, it's all about what they do, rather than for what they wear, and whatever they choose to wear doesn't hinder them from doing anything."

Having Bashir in the calendar was important to the project, Javed said.

"This is a very, very important image and a very strong image to send out there, that Muslim women are active. They are fit and you know they're into sports and they're strong.

"So I think it's inspiring to a lot of us in ways if we want to go in sports that yes, we can do it. It's not against our religion or anything."

Javed produced the calendar in collaboration with Islamic Family and Social Services Association (IFSSA), with the help of a grant from the Edmonton Arts Council. She hopes the stories of the women in the calendar will inspire Muslim girls.

"I hope it works for the youth in boosting their self esteem in seeing, you know, other Muslim women on (a) calendar for their contributions and also I hope to create some role models for them to say, ok, you know, this woman, she's a boxer, you know, or this woman, she's a scholar ... so I can be too," she said.

The calendar will be launched on Dec. 18th. Proceeds will go to the IFSSA food bank.