MARIA TOORPAKAI is a multiple award-winning professional squash player. As a child growing up in a highly conservative tribal area of Pakistan where girls' involvement in sport was forbidden by the local Islamic culture, Toorpakai trained and competed as a boy in Peshawar. She is member of Women in Sports Commission of the International Olympic Committee. Today, the Maria Toorpakai Foundation supports and promotes young girls through sports by providing equal opportunities to be free, play and explore their full potential. Her documentary Girl Unbound: The War to Be Her premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. She has been featured across the media for her work and spoken on multiple prestigious stages. Toorpakai is the sister of Ayesha Gulalai, who is a former Member of the National Assembly representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on a reserved seat for women.
