Shazia Hidayat
Encyclopedia
Shazia Hidayat, a Catholic woman, was the only female athlete on the Pakistan
team competing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
, Australia
.
She was born on April 4, 1976 in Chichawatni
, Punjab, Pakistan.
Hidayat, a middle- and long-distance runner from a village 360 kilometers south of Islamabad
, had to overcome huge obstacles to compete internationally. The main objection being raised was how a Pakistani woman could race in a competition in which other women do not wear clothes that cover their body.
She realized that if she qualified, she would have to wear a jogging suit while others wore shorts. Girls in Pakistan, when allowed to take part in sports, must wear such suits.
In the Women's 1,500 metres in 2005 her Personal Best time was 4:58.79.
She participated in athletics in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the second woman to ever represent Pakistan in an Olympic event.
In 2011 Hidayat, also competed in the Knights of Columbus Indoor Games in Saskatoon
, Canada
. She lives in Saskatoon, having moved here from Pakistan. Her parents, especially her father, encouraged her to run, but in the predominately Muslim country she had to train in, it had to be done at 2:30 in the morning with a brother biking to pace her, because female athletes were not allowed to run on the road.
She describes running qualifying races in the daytime in her home country where spectators were lining the sidelines not to cheer, but to throw rocks and tomatoes at her. Eventually because of threats to her safety and the lack of security in training and racing facilities, she relocated to Canada.
She currently works at the University of Saskatchewan
, takes classes to further improve her English, and trains in the afternoons. She hopes to coach other female runners in the future.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
team competing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
She was born on April 4, 1976 in Chichawatni
Chichawatni
Chichawatni is a town in the Sahiwal District of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Situated near the Grand Trunk Road, it lies approximately from Sahiwal, the district capital.-Etymology:...
, Punjab, Pakistan.
Hidayat, a middle- and long-distance runner from a village 360 kilometers south of Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, had to overcome huge obstacles to compete internationally. The main objection being raised was how a Pakistani woman could race in a competition in which other women do not wear clothes that cover their body.
She realized that if she qualified, she would have to wear a jogging suit while others wore shorts. Girls in Pakistan, when allowed to take part in sports, must wear such suits.
In the Women's 1,500 metres in 2005 her Personal Best time was 4:58.79.
She participated in athletics in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the second woman to ever represent Pakistan in an Olympic event.
In 2011 Hidayat, also competed in the Knights of Columbus Indoor Games in Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She lives in Saskatoon, having moved here from Pakistan. Her parents, especially her father, encouraged her to run, but in the predominately Muslim country she had to train in, it had to be done at 2:30 in the morning with a brother biking to pace her, because female athletes were not allowed to run on the road.
She describes running qualifying races in the daytime in her home country where spectators were lining the sidelines not to cheer, but to throw rocks and tomatoes at her. Eventually because of threats to her safety and the lack of security in training and racing facilities, she relocated to Canada.
She currently works at the University of Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...
, takes classes to further improve her English, and trains in the afternoons. She hopes to coach other female runners in the future.