Do you know any women who play a sport, work for a sports team, or train for the Olympics?
Pretty soon you might know more. The women featured here know sports make people feel better physically and mentally, which in turn helps them succeed in school, at their jobs, and in the development of their careers.
Read on to see how they’re working to change the face of sports in their countries.
Yasmian Al-Sharshani, Qatar
Al-Sharshani launched Qatar Golf Ladies to encourage other women to join the game. “I want to inspire the next generation of girls in my country.”
She has big dreams: to participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics and to decrease obesity among Qatari women.
Carla Bustamante, Mexico
Bustamante, public relations director for Naranjeros de Hermosillo baseball club, is the first woman in the club’s history to hold an executive position.
She encourages women to work in the sports industry — in jobs that are not just about “looking pretty in front of the camera” — by teaching creative marketing and serving as a role model for girls in Hermosillo.
Batoul Arnaout, Jordan
“Ten years ago, cycling was not acceptable for women” in Jordan, Arnaout says. “I think the reason is that riding a bike somehow resembles freedom, which is something mostly restricted to men versus women.”
Arnaout wanted to make sports more accessible to Jordanians, so she and 100 volunteers removed trash and smoking areas from a local track so people might actually want to run there. The successful cleanup campaign led to another: helping poor youth acquire donated sports gear. “The joy I get from helping these kids is priceless. It makes me sleep happy,” she says.
Follow these women and others who have embarked on sports-related careers by using #empowerwomen, and find out how you can do the same in your country.