WUNRN
PAKISTAN - TRIBAL GIRL TAKES BOY'S
IDENTITY & LATER BECAME STRONG ATHLETE - COURAGEOUS VIDEO TESTIMONIAL
Born November 22, 1990 in South Waziristan, the tribal
Pakistan Pashtun region bordering Afghanistan, Maria Toorpakai Wazir's
options as a young girl were severely limited and determined solely by the
traditions of her culture. As with most girls of her region, Maria's
destiny was to be sequestered at home and married off at a young age.
Supported by her father, Maria assumed a boy's identity,
clothing, name, life. She excelled in sports like weight lifting. Then, Maria
discovered the sport of squash.
In order to enter into a squash tournament, Maria was compelled to produce her
birth certificate and to openly compete as a girl. By the time Maria was 16
years of age, she was Pakistan's number one squash player, and the world's
number three junior player.
The attention, which grew from Maria's success evoked death threats from the
Taliban and forced Maria into hiding and withdrawing from openly playing
squash. Dissatisfied with the increasingly difficult situation, Maria sent out
hundreds of emails around the world with pleas for help. Only one person
responded: Jonathon Power.
Maria currently trains in Canada at Jonathon's squash centre, The National
Squash Academy and continues to compete. Her current world ranking is 49.
Maria tells girls to Follow Their Dreams.
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