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Maria Toor Pakay (born November 22, 1990 in South Waziristan) is a Pashtun professional squash player from Pakistan.
She is currently ranked 44th in the world, and is Pakistan No. 1.[1] Maria turned pro in 2006.
In early August 2007 she was given the Salaam Pakistan Award by the President of Pakistan, alongside tennis player Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi and footballer Muhammad Essa.[1]
In late August 2007, aged just 16, she missed out on making her maiden appearance in a WISPA World Tour final after losing a five-game semi-final thriller in the POF WISPA Wah Cantt Open at the Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in the Punjab city of Wah Cantt in Pakistan. She was nominated as WISPA Young Player of the Year 2007.
Background
Maria Toor Pakay is a professional squash player, born November 22, 1990 in South Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan in Pakistan's northwest. She is currently ranked as Pakistan's top female player, and 49th in the world. Toorpakai turned professional in 2006, and in 2009 came third in the World Junior Women's Championship.[2][3]
As a child in a highly conservative tribal area of Pakistan, Toorpakai trained and competed as a boy, as girls' involvement in sport was forbidden by the local Islamic culture. After being required to produce a birth certificate to play squash at age 16, the truth about Toorpakai's gender came out and she was subject to harassment and bullying from other players. Additionally, as a professional female sportsperson who played without a veil and in shorts, Toorpakai and her family were threatened as her actions were perceived as "un-Islamic." The Pakistani national squash federation provided security for her home and training venue, however Toorpakai decided it was a safer option to seek an opportunity to train internationally.[2][3][4]
Toorpakai currently resides and trains in Toronto, Canada, under former professional squash player Jonathon Power
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