Pakistan's star female basketballer fights for recognition

DW (English)

Aisha Ijlal is cooking on the court, beating men in a sport which has traditionally been male-dominated. But despite her success she still faces pushback.

Transcript

00:00As a female athlete here in Pakistan, I think that we just don't get enough recognition

00:18here for our talent. It's always about the men.

00:37I would tell young girls that keep working hard, keep trying to make that place for yourself

00:44because once you work hard enough and once you show that determination, you really can

00:49do it all. Basketball is just such a sport that it gives you that space to really make

00:55a name for yourself.

01:08My parents are one of the main reasons that I started playing basketball and it was because

01:12of their support that I thought that I really can do it all.

01:19Always play with guys, which is a very big thing because she's a girl, but she's always

01:23been able to properly compete with guys and just give them that same competition as, for

01:28example, a guy would give. Especially Pakistan basketball, where girls don't get a lot of

01:32exposure to all of this properly. Ayesha has been like a beacon for them.

01:45I got a lot of compliments from people, but I also got a lot of hate where people were

01:50like, oh, like, you know, she's not that great and I've seen better and this and that. So

01:54I feel like my teammates and my friends have really helped me overcome that challenge.

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