Main content

Maria Toorpakai: Why I dressed like my brother and burned my girly clothes

World-class squash player Maria Toorpakai grew up in Peshawar, a tribal region of Pakistan dominated by the Taliban. At age four, she made the radical decision to pose as a boy to escape her fate in a region where girls are not educated, rarely leave their homes and are forbidden to play sports. Starting her athletic career as a wrestler, she won many tournaments posing as a boy before becoming a squash player. She talks to Clare Balding about the struggles she and her family faced.

Maria's book A Different Kind of Daughter tells the story of her family.

First broadcast on Good Morning Sunday on Sunday, 3 April 2016.

Release date:

Duration:

5 minutes

This clip is from