By Hira Nafees Shah

On a mild afternoon in March, a bunch of volunteers were waiting with bated breath at a local Karachi stadium. Their event was scheduled to start at 4pm, but despite it being 15 minutes over, no one had showed up.

And then everyone heaved a sigh of relief as a father and his young daughter made their way to the stadium. Eventually more than 80 people converged at the venue, and squeals of excitement rang out as fathers and their daughters took part in a rare activity in Pakistan–they played football together in a sports clinic called “Daddy and Me,” designed to empower girls through sports.

Sporting events are seldom held for women in the country. A scarcity of proper venues, trained coaches and the conservative mindset of society, all act as impediments, explains the clinic organizer Fatima Saleem, an alumna of U.S. Department of State’s ESPN Global Sports Mentoring Program.

That’s why she created the “Go Girl Pakistan” sports empowerment project after returning from her U.S. exchange with a desire to increase awareness and sports opportunities for girls.  As a national TV network sports anchor, Saleem was uniquely positioned to have an immediate impact.

“I wanted girls to fall in love with playing sports in Pakistan,” said Saleem. “I was also motivated by my exchange experience to initiate Go Girl Pakistan, so that girls would get an opportunity to play sports with their parents.”

Saleem applied for a $5,000 dollar Alumni Small Grant from the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN), to enable her to fulfill her dream of organizing three football clinics with more than 100 girls between five to 12 years old, and their parents.

The purpose of the camps was to instill confidence in girls and empower women through sports. All alumni of various U.S sponsored exchange programs in Pakistan are eligible to apply for the grant to enable them to give back to their communities.

“The Pakistan-U.S Alumni Network’s grant program is all about a small grant making a big difference,” Saleem said. Saleem organized three, two-and-half hour football clinics under the grant project in March 2014, including “Daddy and Me,” “Mommy and Me,” and “Mommy, Daddy and Me.” She recruited the girls and offered the clinics free of cost to participants and their families.

The idea behind “Go Girl Pakistan” is that women who play sports live healthier lives, because the physical exercise engenders confidence, unity and spirit of sportsmanship, explains Saleem.

Asra Adnan a mother of two who took part in the “Mommy and Me” clinic with her daughter complimented the alumna’s effort.

“The clinic was a good experience as it enabled me to interact with my daughter in a different way,” she said.

Adnan also asserted her daughter had become much more active since attending the training and believed that such activities should be made mandatory in schools.

Another mother Saima Gohar appreciated the fact that the sessions of “Go Girl Pakistan” were motivational and free of cost. She said she had a wonderful time seeing her husband and her daughters take part in the football clinic and praised the trainers for being helpful with the kids. For Marinne Haider, the trainings provided families with a positive activity in Karachi.

“There is a dearth of such activities in Karachi and parents look forward to healthy recreation opportunities,” Haider said.

Her five year-old daughter Maya Haider praised the clinic and said she wanted to take part in another football training session. Apart from the mothers, Fatima Saleem also received positive response from the fathers who participated, noting that one father said he had never played sports with his daughter before the clinic, but was thankful for the chance to take part.

“There was a time when no one believed in me, but now with the success of Go Girl Pakistan, I feel like a super sports women,” Saleem said.

The alumna is now partnering with additional organizations to continue her great work. She has since conducted five more football clinics for underprivileged girls in Karachi. She hopes to target girls from every area of the city in future sessions as well, in keeping with the “Go Girl Pakistan” motto that girls who play sports live healthier, more confident lives.

To find out more about Go Girl Pakistan, visit:

https://www.facebook.com/gogirlpakistan