Karishma Ali belongs to the farthest end of Chitral. She is not older than 23 yet she has come out to be the first Chitali footballer. People of Chitral especially, the girls are not exposed to outdoor games however they have their local games which they used to play. But Karishma Ali has turned the point and made herself the first footballer. In her interviews, she has said that she was interested in games and she had been playing in her schools. Further, she said that she was chosen as a captain for her school team and after that, she thought to take it as a career. In 2016 she has represented Pakistan in the diamond Jubilee games in Dubai. Moreover, she has been the part of first Pakistani women team that participated in the Australian Football League International Cup 2017. She has been listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia List in 2019.
She is a role model for all Chitrali girls and she has founded a club for them as well with the name of Chitral Women’s Sports Club. She has been giving training to the girls of her area and has been playing with them. She is not just a footballer but she has continued her studies as well. She has been the victim of too much criticism yet she never left her dream and passion for football. In her one interview, she said that; she has been able to ignore all the criticism just because of her family especially her father that is why it is well said that; “Behind every independent girl there is a father”. Today she is not a pride of her family but the whole nation.
Cultural limitations sometimes restrict the exploration of skills and bound them to prove themselves as someone. We need to come out of these cultural disparities if we want to be one nation (AikQaum). I am not against cultural norms however, changes in norms should be appreciated with time. We cannot work out in this Global village with some primitive norms that is why we need to accept the changes and we have to respect the diversity. It is a request to let every girl be like Karishma Ali because there are many Karishma’s insides who need a platform. It is necessary to provide one nation platform for all.
