CNN
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Malala Yousafzai is known by millions around the world as an activist and human rights campaigner, a voice of power and inspiration who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban at age 15. Perhaps less well known is her life as a sports fanatic.
But take any major women’s sports event from the past few years and you can bet on Yousafzai being in the stands, whether that’s cricket, soccer, basketball, netball or the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. She even chose to spend a freezing Valentine’s Day evening with her husband, Asser Malik, watching American rugby star Ilona Maher turn out for English club side Bristol Bears.
Now, Yousafzai – mononamously referred to as Malala – is turning her fandom into a platform to invest in women’s sports around the world, both on a professional and amateur level.
Recess is her latest initiative intended to enhance the rights of women and girls through sports, a concept which you could say has been in the pipeline since Yousafzai’s childhood in Pakistan.
“I remember in school recess time when boys would go off to the local cricket playground and girls had to stay behind,” she said in an exclusive interview with CNN Sports. “From that point onwards, I knew that sports was something that girls did not have easy access to.”
And in today’s global climate, a time of conflict and heightened political tension, Yousafzai believes that sports play a more crucial role than ever before.
“I think about young people and how their lives are at risk, how children are killed, they’re starved, and girls’ rights are taken away in Afghanistan,” she said. “Just looking at the tensions around the world, we can only hope and pray for peace and encourage everybody to put down their weapons and think about the hope for humanity.
“We are capable of dialogue, we are capable of coming together, and sports, in history, in the current times, have proven to be that powerful way of bringing communities together. … We could be competitive, but at the same time, when the game is over, we can hug each other, shake hands, and recognize that we’re all one humanity.”
A longtime and committed campaigner for women’s education, Yousafzai became an internationally recognized figure after she was shot in the head by the Taliban while riding a bus home from school.
Airlifted to a hospital in Birmingham, England, for lifesaving treatment, she had months of surgeries and rehabilitation before recovering and making the UK her new home with her family.
Undeterred by the experience, Yousafzai founded the Malala Fund in 2013 to champion educational rights for girls, and the following year became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17.
Recess, launched on Tuesday to coincide with her appearance at the Billie Jean King Power of Women’s Sport Summit in London, is Yousafzai’s latest initiative dedicated to women’s and girls’ rights. This time, she is doing it alongside her husband, who has experience setting up a cricket franchise in Pakistan and working with the country’s cricket board.
“We were looking for an opportunity where we could bring in our expertise, our platform to benefit women’s sports in general, just because of the lack of investments, lack of opportunities,” Yousafzai said.
Among those contributing to the initiative as advisors are Billie Jean King and wife Ilana Kloss, people who “believe in women’s sports as a business opportunity, and who believe that women’s sports can help us promote gender equity,” Yousafzai added.
She and Malik identify the NWSL and WNBA as two leagues in which they are looking to invest, partly because of the “huge potential” for growth, Yousafzai said, and partly because getting involved in established leagues can “help us really test the economics and the mission side of our work.”
The approach will be multipronged, focusing on women’s professional sports in recognized and emerging markets, but on increasing the number of girls involved in sports around the world.
By age 14, girls drop out of sporting activities at double the rate of boys, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation, due to limited opportunities, social stigma and a lack of role models, among other reasons.
“For women’s sports to grow everywhere, we have to have a different approach for different places,” Malik told CNN Sports. “And obviously, Recess’ approach is to treat them like a proper business and to go in and prove that it’s a great business case, so that more capital comes in and it grows.”
Away from boardrooms, Yousafzai, like many who grow up in Pakistan, is an avid cricket fan. She’s also a keen golfer and admits to thinking about the sport “every week almost,” even reliving her best shots to Malik after a round in precise detail.
From her perspective as a fan, the 27-year-old has seen the impact of athletes like Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who has brought increased audiences to the WNBA. It’s figures like Clark, she believes, who can act as role models and encourage more girls to take up sports, purely off the back of their performances alone.
“They have a huge impact without actually saying much,” Yousafzai said. “I don’t think we need to ask them about every topic and every issue – the fact that they’re on the field and they’re on the court is already changing perspectives.
“It’s empowering girls. It’s sending a powerful message to women, to all of us, that the sky’s the limit, and women’s sports will thrive. We will have more equal opportunities for women and girls and we can imagine a world where girls are empowered.”
