Weightlifters Twinkle and Sonia of Pakistan
make Christian community proud.
Twinkle Sohail and Sonia Azmat have the weight
of the Pakistani Christian world on their shoulders, but if anyone can bear the
hopes of such a persecuted minority, it is these teenage champion powerlifters.
Last year Twinkle became the first Pakistani woman to represent her country in
powerlifting, taking a gold medal in the 57 kilogram junior event at the Asian
Bench Press Championship in her first attempt. The next day, her teammate Sonia
took a second gold medal for Pakistan in the 63kg category, earning her place
in the history books alongside Twinkle. The achievements of the two young
Christian women represent a rare bright spot for a minority who frequently find
themselves the targets of extremist attacks — such as the one carried out in
Lahore last Easter that killed 72 people, many of them children. Christians
also routinely fall victim to the country's controversial blasphemy laws, which
carry the death penalty, and many are stuck in menial jobs such as sanitation
or domestic work. But Twinkle and Sonia, both 19, are proving an inspiration
after their triumph in Muscat last year — boosted by a third gold medal from
their Muslim teammate, Shazia Kanwal, to see the Pakistanis outclass athletes
from 12 countries. Pakistan, where cricket is the dominant pastime, is taking
the rare opportunity to seek success in other sports, funding the women's
return to the Asian championships in Tashkent in October. According to an AFP
report published in The Dawn, they can
go further: to the World Powerlifting Championships next year in
Florida, in the US. It will be a long way from the tiny homes on narrow,
congested streets in the impoverished Christian areas of Lahore where Twinkle
and Sonia were both born.