This 19-year-old Pakistani sportswoman's staggering experiences captivate UN

Noorena participated in several sports competitions and has won 63 gold, 24 silver and five bronze medals

On March 10, 2017, Noorena Shams, a 19-year-old sportsperson from Lower Dir, addressed a youth event at the United Nations headquarters on women’s rights and education.



The Commission on the Status of Women, a UN body working for gender equality and women empowerment, organises a two-week session every year on women’s rights and is attended by representatives of UN member states, civil society organisations and UN entities. Shams was invited by Malala Fund to address this year’s session which was themed around the issue of women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.

Currently residing in Peshawar, Shams has been playing quite a few sports professionally. At the age of 15, she disguised herself as a boy to play cricket because there was no accessible academy for girls in the city. As a squash player, she joined the world ranking in just three years. She was also among the top 40 junior players of Asia in 2015. She has participated in several national and international sports competitions and has won 63 gold, 24 silver and five bronze medals so far. In 2008, she became the youngest South Asian to win a silver medal in Junior Olympics for cycling.

“Growing up, I felt intense energy inside me and I knew I had to channel it somewhere positive. So I started playing different sports,” she explains.



Apart from her athletic achievements, Shams was named Pakistan’s debating champion in 2011 and 2012 by the education ministry. She was also awarded a distinction in Urdu during both her O-Level and A-Level exams.

Growing up without a father, Shams says it wasn’t easy to do what she has done in patriarchal Pakistan. “A woman so strong at such a young age is never appreciated. I don’t even tell my family what I go through because I fear my mother and sister will ask me to quit otherwise,” she says.



In addition to worrying about her education and sports practice, Shams says finances are a big concern too. “I have played with someone else’s racket and shoes until I bought mine; I had borrowed a camera to earn a little through photography until I purchased my own and I have filled my stomach with water when I had nothing to eat,” she narrates.

These experiences, Shams says, has made her fearless. “I believe no one can stop me from getting what I want except Allah. I am limitless,” she says, adding that she sometimes gets life threats for her work against harassment of women in sports.



Having achieved a great deal already, Shams doesn’t plan to stop. “I want to study about automobiles; I want to make cars as well as become a Formula One racer. Being the world champion in squash is also my goal,” she shares.

For young girls who often struggle to pursue their dreams, Shams says Pakistani women are “the strongest” and have always proven what they are capable of. “The barrier does not exist in the culture or the community but in your mind; break it with your passion and rise,” she advises.


All photos were provided by Noorena Shams.