Women’s boxing is gaining attention in Pakistan. The latest breakthrough came from Fatima Zahra, 22, who became Pakistan’s first female Commonwealth Games boxing medallist after winning bronze in the 60kg division in Glasgow in July.
Another rising figure is Aliya Soomro, 21, whose international victory in Bangkok last year inspired younger fighters in Karachi’s Lyari neighbourhood, including 13-year-old Hoorain Zahra.
“They think boxing is not for girls,” Zahra said. “But it is not possible to live without going outside, you have to go out.”
Coach Ustad Younis Qambrani has trained girls in Lyari for more than a decade and believes boxing has helped them build confidence. Soomro echoed that message, saying: “Our society regards girls as very weak... But I believe girls can do everything, sometimes even more than men.”