The 1997 World Cup Pakistani Women’s Team with captain Shaiza Khan (seated, center), vice-captain Kiran Baluch (standing, far left) and Coach Jodie Davis (middle row, left). Courtesy of Kiran Baluch
Access to sports is more than a matter of recreation; it is a question of rights, visibility, and equality. When women are excluded from sports and other public spheres, they are often excluded from decision-making spaces, political platforms, educational opportunities, and the cultural narratives that shape national identity. Public spaces, whether stadiums, streets, or stages, are symbolic battlegrounds for representation. To claim these spaces is to challenge the very structures that have historically kept women invisible. In this way, women’s cricket in Pakistan is not just about a game, it is about riding toward freedom, much like historical movements where women on bicycles in the early 20th century defied restrictions and claimed mobility as power. Women in sport are engaging in politics, even if indirectly, because their presence disrupts the gendered order of who gets to be seen, celebrated, and heard in society.
Women’s cricket in Pakistan has a history steeped in resistance, resilience, and silent revolution. Though cricket is passionately followed across the country, the idea of women participating in it, let alone professionally, was unthinkable. Yet, over the past three decades, women’s cricket in Pakistan has evolved from being a defiant dream to an established and growing sport.
The initiative for women’s cricket in Pakistan can be traced back to the early 1990s, when two sisters, Shaiza and Sharmeen Khan, challenged the deeply patriarchal norms of Pakistani society by laying the foundations of a women’s cricket team. Born in Karachi and raised abroad, the Khans were introduced to cricket in England and developed a passion for the game. Upon returning to Pakistan, they were determined to form a national women’s team, despite social and institutional opposition. In 1996, they successfully organized the first international tour for a Pakistani women’s team, playing against New Zealand and Australia.
The beginning, however, was met with harsh resistance. Conservative groups condemned the initiative, citing cultural and religious values. Legal challenges were mounted, and the sisters even received threats. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), at the time, distanced itself from women’s cricket, and the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Control Association (PWCCA), founded by the Khans, operated independently. It wasn’t until 2005 that the International Cricket Council (ICC) mandated all cricket boards to have a women’s wing, which led to the PCB finally taking control and officially recognizing the women’s team.
The exclusion of women from sports mirrored their exclusion from other spaces—boardrooms, parliaments, and universities. For much of Pakistan’s history, women were expected to remain in the domestic sphere, their activities tightly monitored, their public visibility minimized. By breaking into cricket grounds, the Khan sisters and their peers were breaking into symbolic territory, asserting that women had the right to be in spaces previously marked “off-limits.” Much like suffragettes cycling through city streets to claim mobility, Pakistani women with cricket bats in hand were making a political statement, whether or not the public recognized it at the time.
Overcoming these early struggles required exceptional courage. The Khan sisters’ resilience laid a foundation that inspired future generations. Their work brought visibility to women cricketers and demonstrated the importance of institutional support. When the PCB took over, it brought funding, professional coaching, and international exposure. But the challenges had only started. Female athletes still had to fight for equal facilities, regular fixtures, and recognition.
Public perception was initially skeptical, if not outright hostile. Early matches drew criticism more than applause, and players were often ridiculed for stepping outside traditional gender roles. However, as women’s cricket gained legitimacy, public attitudes began to shift. Media coverage grew, and trailblazers like Sana Mir, Pakistan’s most successful women’s cricket captain, became national icons. Her leadership between 2009 and 2017 was pivotal in not only boosting the team’s international ranking but also in inspiring confidence among young girls.
The first moments of national coverage for Pakistan’s women’s cricket team were groundbreaking. For years, their matches had been ignored, played in near anonymity, or overshadowed by men’s cricket. When televised coverage and major newspapers finally began to feature women’s matches in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was nothing short of revolutionary. For many women, seeing female athletes on national television was validation that they, too, belonged in public life. The coverage was often limited and inconsistent, but its symbolic weight carried immense importance. It marked the beginning of a shift in visibility, where women’s athletic achievements could no longer be dismissed as private hobbies but had to be acknowledged as part of Pakistan’s sporting identity.
The impact of these role models extends far beyond the cricket pitch. When a young girl in Multan or Quetta sees a Pakistani woman representing the country on the world stage, she also sees the possibility of her own presence in other arenas – perhaps in politics, science, or entrepreneurship. Access to one public space can create momentum toward others. This is why the fight for women’s cricket is inseparable from the broader struggle for women’s empowerment: it is about dismantling the gatekeeping that has kept half the population from full participation in society.
Today, women’s cricket in Pakistan is gaining momentum. The team has qualified for multiple ICC Women’s World Cups and regularly features in international tours. In recent years, the PCB has expanded its efforts to promote women’s cricket, including organizing domestic tournaments and launching development programs. The inaugural Women’s T20 League is also in the works, aiming to mirror the success of other regional leagues.
Still, progress cannot be taken for granted. The younger generation of players often steps onto fields already prepared for them, without realizing that only a few decades ago those same fields were inaccessible. Preserving the stories of resistance, from the Khan sisters’ defiance to Sana Mir’s leadership, is crucial. These narratives remind us that public spaces for women were never simply “given”; they were claimed, defended, and expanded through persistence. As with other political struggles, forgetting the past risks losing hard-won ground.
While challenges around infrastructure, pay parity, and societal expectations still exist, the journey of women’s cricket in Pakistan is a testament to perseverance. From being an idea born in defiance to becoming a movement embraced by many, it reflects a changing landscape, one where young girls are beginning to see cricket as their rightful space, not just a borrowed one.
Ultimately, the evolution of women’s cricket in Pakistan is not only a sporting achievement but a political act. It is about rewriting the map of who belongs in public life, reclaiming places that were once denied, and showing that every time a woman steps onto the field, she widens the boundaries for all who will come after her.
WLUML Intern Sara Zahoor is an undergraduate student at Trinity College, pursuing a B.A. in Public Policy & Law with a concentration in Policy Analysis. She can be contacted at @ssarazahoor@gmail.com.