Our next guest is a Professional Squash Player based in Pakistan who was ranked number 120 in the world by the Professional Squash Association. She is not only an athlete but also an activist. Noorena Shams is the first ever athlete from Pakistan to have spoken at the United Nations Human Rights Council social forum Geneva 2018 for the rights of athletes of South Asia.

This is what Noorena has to say about herself:

I am a Pakistani athlete and an activist. Professionally I have played squash in different tournaments around the world. I have touched the highest rank of 120. Right now I rank 238 in the world by the Professional Squash Association. I have remained among the 30 Asian squash players during my junior career. I have played cricket and have been a cyclist for a short span of time.

I am the youngest member of the sports management committee by the Khyber PakhtunKhwa Government. I am the only athlete to sit on this table. I have been listed among 24 inspirational figures by UNDP Pakistan 2016. I have been voted as one of the 50 influential ladies of Pakistan by The News newspaper 2016. I have been among the 20 game changers listed by the Global Citizen’s Magazine 2018. I am the first ever female international athlete from Malakand Division that includes Dir, Swat, Bajaur, Buner, Chitral, Malakand and Shangla district.

As an activist I am the first ever athlete from Pakistan to have spoken at the United Nations Human Rights Council social forum Geneva 2018 for the rights of athletes of south asia. I have spoken at the United Nations Commission on the status of women New York 2017. I have spoken on and off regarding the rights of athletes and women on different platforms including Human Rights Watch head office and others. I have been trying to help many students and athletes financially through my social media presence. I have recently been listed among young activists serving in COVID’19 by the United Nations Youth Envoy.

In this episode we talk about:

1. The role the media plays in advancing women's sports
2. The importance if allowing everyone to make their own choices
3. The hardships that Noorena has gone through in order to play sports
4. The impact Noorena would love to have on the sports industry and all generations of women

Remember to follow Noorena on LinkedIn.

And if you would like to be a part of a fantastic Women in Sports community, join women in sports: beyond the hashtag