Middle East Focus: A Pashtun Tomboy of Waziristan……………..
A Pashtun Tomboy of Waziristan……………..
“South Waziristan always makes local and international headlines as the epicenter of militancy in Pakistan and the stronghold of the feared Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). But Maria Toor, the women squash champion of Pakistan, offers a soft face of the restive mountaineer region and hopes to help clear stereotypes about her homeland. "My people are wonderful. It’s only a myth that there are only militants or hardliners," Maria, 20, told IslamOnline.net. "My area has produced a number of people who have proven themselves in different walks of life." Recalling her childhood days in the town of Shakai, a witty Maria says she used to fight with boys in the streets, which ultimately helped her become a strong and independent woman. "My father raised me as a boy, and I too have always considered myself a boy," she said, noting that this why her first sport choices was weightlifting. She disguised herself as a boy to take part in her first ever sports event, which was a weightlifting championship in Peshawar. "I beat all male players in that championship," laughed Maria, with short hair boyishly cut above her neck. However, due to the lack of facilities for women weightlifters, she decided to give up the sport, though she still thinks she had the potential to excel in that field. Maria met former world squash champion Jansher Khan in Peshawar in 2002, sparking her interest in the sport. Two years later, she became Pakistan’s top female squash player and is currently seeded 85 on the World Squash Federation ranking……. Her father Shams-ul-Qayyum, a government servant, is a traditional Pashtun who wears the traditional Shalwar Kameez (lose trouser and shirt) and sports a long beard. He hails from the Wazir tribe, the second largest tribe in South Waziristan after Mehsuds…...….” Cheers
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