FOOTBALL: THE BALL AT HER FEET

Muqaddas Abdul Rasheed in action | Courtesy Kiran Foundation In the crowded streets of Karachi’s old city neighbourhood of Lyari, football has always been more than a game. It lives in the narrow alleys, on dusty grounds and through evening street matches, in which children grow up chasing a ball long before they learn to chase success. For decades, however, that dream largely belonged to boys. Now, five young girls from Lyari are rewriting that story. Selected through competitive trials organised by the Kiran Foundation, the girls — Syeda Umme Zunaira Shah, Muqaddas Abdul Rasheed, Saiqa Faisal, Javeria Ejaz and Marium Zehri — travelled to Qatar to train at the prestigious Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Academy. Their journey marked more than an international football opportunity — it became a powerful statement that girls from Lyari can compete on the global stage. Karachi’s neighbourhood of Lyari is known for its passion for football. But that passion was reserved for boys. Now five girls have challenged that monopoly on dreams… For 20-year-old footballer Syeda Umme Zunaira Shah, the journey began nearly a decade ago, with a determination to challenge stereotypes. “I started playing football in 2016, when I was only 11,” she says. “In Lyari, football is everywhere. Watching boys play in the streets inspired me to prove that girls could play just as well.” But stepping on to the field was never easy. Like many female athletes in Pakistan, Zunaira faced social criticism and constant questions about why a girl would choose football over more “acceptable” paths. “The hardest part was breaking society’s mindset,” she explains. “People believed football was only for boys.” What kept her going was the unwavering support of her family. “My parents became my biggest strength,” she says. “They always told me to stay focused on my dream.” That support proved invaluable when the opportunity to train with the PSG Academy emerged through the Kiran Foundation. The coaches evaluated p