Former captain of Pakistan women cricket team Sana Mir is set to receive the prestigious ‘2019 Asia Game Changer’ award by the Asia Society.
The award recognizes the efforts of inspiring and path-breaking women who are making a transformative impact in Asia and beyond. In partnership with Citi, Asia Society annually honors game-changing leaders from a broad geographic range and varied backgrounds; this year marks the first time that all of the honorees are women.
According to a statement by Asia Society, Sana Mir is one of six women who will receive this award.
Asia Society is also honoring Sana Mir, recognized as one of the world’s greatest cricket players and former captain of Pakistan’s national team, who has championed women’s participation in this male-dominated sport.
The Asia Society statement further claimed that Sana’s efforts are truly remarkable especially because Pakistan is still learning to break the barriers of equality when it comes to sports.
In a country where many women still struggle for basic rights, Mir’s success has been a lodestar. Unwilling to simply rest on her laurels, Mir is an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, working to change attitudes about women’s participation in the traditionally male-dominated sport of cricket — and beyond.
An avid social media user who is followed by hundreds of thousands, Mir employs her platform to advocate for everything from compulsory cricket programs for schoolgirls to an end to body-shaming advertisement.
The complete list is as follows:
- Sana Mir, Pakistan women cricketer
- Yuriko Koike, Japan’s first female Defense Minister, and first female governor
- Chhaya Sharma, who led the investigation and prosecution of several high-profile crimes in India
- Jane Jie Sun, owner of a 25 billion dollar company where more than half of the employees are women
- Faiza Saeed, the Presiding Partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, the first woman to lead the prestigious law firm, which celebrates its bicentennial this year
For more information, you can visit Asia Society and read all about it.
