Sport is not just play—it’s empowerment. Women and girls who engage in sports develop essential life skills: confidence, resilience, leadership, and teamwork. Yet, despite the proven benefits, UN Women data has found that girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys by the age of 14, often due to social barriers and lack of support.
While research exists on females in sports, there is a significant lack of data on women and girls with intellectual disabilities, making it harder to address the barriers they face.
Special Olympics is changing the game for women and girls with intellectual disabilities (ID), ensuring they too, could thrive through sport. By providing inclusive programs, we empower women and girls to not only break barriers but to build the self-esteem and resilience needed to achieve their fullest potential—on the field and in life.
We have witnessed how physical activity has played a pivotal, transformative role in the lives of female athletes with ID. Sports has often been a gateway in which women and girls with ID grow in confidence, learn to work with others and build social skills, eventually stepping up to become advocates and leaders, both on and off the playing field.
Pauline Paul, an athlete leader from Special Olympics Papua New Guinea, for instance grew from being someone who was bullied in school, to become a confident advocate for inclusive education using her voice to challenge barriers.
Syakila Nasir, a talented, young badminton player from Special Olympics Malaysia, overcome her shyness to become an outspoken and independent young woman through the empowerment of sports and competition, even going onto to represent her country in the World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany in 2023.
As Special Olympics Pilipinas Board Chair, Akiko Thomson-Guevara, puts it, sports can help ease communication and bridge differences, “Like music, sports is a universal language–that’s what makes it so accessible and powerful, It has the power to bring people from opposite ends together… we believe that if you can play sports together, you can live together, side by side.”
These examples offer a clear picture of how sports can serve as a platform for positive and impactful change.
Neena Garg, mother of Muskan Garg, a young powerlifter from Special Olympics Bharat (India), always speaks proudly of her daughter’s numerous sporting achievements, including her winning a gold and three silvers medals at the Special Olympic Abu Dhabi World Games in 2019. “Her involvement in sports has not only given her a sense of purpose and pride, but also taught her valuable life skills. She’s now a more confident, self-reliant, and independent young woman.”
Muskan’s journey shows that with the right opportunities, girls and women with intellectual disabilities can not only succeed but excel in ways that challenge preconceived notions about their abilities.
As we celebrated International Women’s Day, we honored the incredible women and girls in our lives. Let’s continue to support them in staying in the game—because when women play, they rise!
