Almas Karim; Leading with Confidence.
Almas Karim, student of Public Administration at Nust School of Social Sciences and Humanities believes that there is nothing which a woman cannot do. She believes that women should dream big because then they can be successful and prove themselves in the society.
Back in 2009, she joined Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Hunza. There she saw people participating in different co-curricular activities and sports specially. Seeing different people playing games around her encouraged her to take part in games.
“I not only discovered my interest in sports in AKHSS but I also received a platform to polish it.” said Ms Kraim.
2014 was the year in which she got an opportunity to prove her talent at national level. She was selected to play Volleyball in JOSH games arranged by Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board for Pakistan. She represented the volleyball team of Hunza at regional and national level and won the trophy too.
“I was always very passionate about sports but my passion was shattered when I joined NUST. Here I observed that the girls’ volleyball court was mainly occupied by boys” she took a long pause and continued once I was playing with girls in the court when a person from administration came and said “Beta ap ye court ladkoun ke lie kahli kar dein ap ne konsa world cup khelna hai”
She felt amazed that even highly educated people think trivialize girls sports. That was the day she decided that she will prove that girls are equally capable of playing sports and that, yes, they can play the world cup if they are given proper training and opportunities.
“People only embrace your talent when you give them proof” she said
Luckily, she got a chance to represent Pakistan at an international sporting event, Jubilee Games which were held in Dubai last year. She was selected in Volley ball, long jump, 100 meters hurdle race and triple jump.
“I was given the option to choose either team game or athletics. I opted for athletics because I love to try different sports” said Ms. Karim
Her decision of choosing athletics proved to be a right decision and she won two silver medals in 100 meter hurdle race and triple jump. NUST also awarded her with the Excellence Award in May 2017 for her outstanding performance in the Jubilee Games.
“I would like to tell girls, especially those who play sports, to never let society suppress your dreams. Always show your true potential and excel in it. Do not get discouraged from the comments that the people around you make rather take them as words of encouragement to perform better” she said.
