A group of ten female Pakistani hockey players and two female coaches will leave for Washington this weekend to participate in the United States (US) State Department’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative program.
The program would run from June 17 to June 27 and aims at increasing the number of females in sports.
“These high school athletes will play field hockey with their American counterparts in Washington DC where they will work with their peers on developing teamwork, health, and leadership skills,” said US Embassy Deputy Cultural Affairs Officer Robert Raines. “They will also travel to North Carolina to participate in field hockey clinics, activities on sports and disability rights, and community volunteerism at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.”
These hockey players were selected by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and include girls from all over Pakistan, with an emphasis on rural recruitment where such opportunities are sparse.
This sports exchange program builds on the US’s commitment to advance women’s rights globally. To further this initiative, the US Embassy in Islamabad has sent several young female soccer and basketball players to the US previously.
Interestingly, their time in the US would coincide with the 41st anniversary of Title IX, the landmark US law which afforded equal opportunity to American women in sports and education.