NEW YORK – Leading Pakistani cricketer Sana Mir and six other trailblazingwomen from Asian countries were honoured with the 2019 Asia Society GameChangers award at a glittering ceremony here on Thursday night inrecognition of their transformative impact in Asia and beyond.
“Sana Mir is first and foremost a true champion in her field, she’s also achampion for millions of girls and young women on the field and off,”Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Asia Society Co-Chairperson, said whilepresenting her with the award.
“As a child growing up in Pakistan, Sana Mir saw few other girls — and evenfewer women — playing the national sport: cricket. Refusing to let thatstop her, Sana joined the country’s fledgling women’s cricket team and wenton to become its captain and eventually the top female cricketers in theworld,” Ambassador Chan told a large and distinguished guests at a tophotel.
Sana Mir, who is also an Asia 21 Young Leader, dedicated her award to thosestanding up for climate change, to women helping each other, and,particularly, to children of war-torn nations.
“My prayer today is that the leaders of today and tomorrow see the worldthrough the lens of the child, the way the child sees the world, so we cansafeguard their rights without regard to the colour of their skin, race,religion, or nationality,” she said.
“Alhamdolillah! I’m truly humbled and honoured to receive this awardalongside amazing world leaders,’ Sana Mir told APP afterwards. “I’m superproud to represent my country and the sport of cricket.”
The other awardees include Japan’s Yuriko Koike, the current and firstfemale governor of Tokyo, China’s Jane Jie Sun, the leader of Ctrip, a25-billion dollar travel company in China, Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi from UAE,a pioneer in the art world who has promoted greater cultural understandingand exchange in the Middle East and around the world, and Chhaya Sharma, asenior Indian police officer who leads a team of investigators to solvesome of New Delhi’s toughest crimes.
The Kung Fu Nuns, a group of Buddhist nuns who have harnessed their masteryof martial arts and are also widely known for their social activism andhumanitarian work are also among those chosen for the award.
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Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promotingmutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among people, leadersand institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context.
It’s Game Changers award identifies and honours true leaders who are makinga positive contribution to the future of Asia.
It was the first time that all the awardees are women since the awards werelaunched in 2014.
Former Asia Game Changers include Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, internetentrepreneur Jack Ma, actor and activist Dev Patel, the Aga Khan, and otherinspirational figures spanning the realms of policy, business, science,arts and culture, education and technology.
Earlier, at a panel discussion, conducted by Tom Nagorski, executive vicepresident of the Asia Society, Sana Mir spoke about how her parentssupported her as she pursued her interest in cricket under difficultcircumstances at a time when infrastructure for women to play the game waspractically non-existent. “My father and mother stood by me,” she said.
Women cricket was now expanding in Pakistan and more and more girls wereplaying the game, she said.
