Karishma Ali Changed Her Life with Football and Other’s with Empathy

One of the first female footballers of Pakistan, Karishma Ali is the true reflection of achieving the unthinkable by just thinking of something. From becoming the first footballer from the Chitral region to providing assistance to the needy amid COVID-19, Karishma has done it all and more at a mere 23 years of age – presumably one of the reasons why CNN is now covering her.

“The men work as daily wage laborers in different cities in Pakistan and what happened after the lockdown, many industries and businesses shut down, they had to return home, and people were finding it difficult, a lot of families were in need,” Karishma told the CNN of her recent endeavors with her father and uncle as the three were out and about to provide essentials for needy families.

“As of August, we had supplied one month’s worth of rations to 300 families and donated 155 N95 masks, 53 goggles, 250 PPE suits, 650 surgical masks, 400 pairs of surgical gloves, and 76 face shields to the DHQ Hospital Chitral,” added the footballer.

Alongside her philanthropy under the circumstances, Karishma had also setup Chitral Women’s Sports Club last year which is her way of empowering girls in her region. Still surprised at the number of girls who turned up to register, Karishma says her ultimate goal is to see more women in leadership positions.

“Things are hard for girls here, especially to have a different dream or to do something outside of what society expects you to do,” she says while adding, “I want to see more women in leadership positions and then sit back and enjoy. This is what I wanted to fight for.”