When Fatima Hussaini arrived in New Zealand five years ago as a refugee she didn't know what sport was - now it's her dream to become a professional football player.
Fatima Hussaini plays football for Hamilton Girls' High and for Melville United. Photo: Supplied
Fatima remembers going to see kick boxing, which was popular where she grew up in Quetta, Pakistan. She was familiar with cricket but thought it was only for men.
Organised sport for women was a completely foreign concept until she came to New Zealand with her family.
Not long after they settled in Hamilton, Fatima started playing football and took to it quickly.
"I played two years goal keeping and in Year 8 I started playing outfield and now I'm a winger and striker. I also play futsal," said Fatima.
The 14-year-old plays for her school and now also plays club football for Melville United.
"When I first came to New Zealand, I didn't know what sport was ...because I'm a girl and I wasn't allowed to play sport [in Pakistan] because I was a girl.
"In Pakistan my oldest brother played a bit of football in the neighbourhood but he was always with his friends, so he would never take me. When I asked to play the boys wouldn't let me because I was a girl."
Fatima Hussaini in her happy place. Photo: Supplied
Since coming to New Zealand, the Hamilton Girls' High student, who has two brothers and three sisters, has by far become the sporty one of the family.
Neither of her parents played any sport back in Pakistan, which was not uncommon.
Fatima tries to explain that regional differences can have an impact on what opportunities girls had to play sport in Pakistan.
"It was the area, the people. Mum didn't have enough information about it and that's why she also wouldn't let me play. It depends on the people around you and the dominant religion and culture in that area."
Fatima said it was such a male dominated society.
"For us girls we didn't have enough freedom to do what we really wanted deep down and wasn't really allowed to go out whenever we wanted because 'girls jobs are to clean and cook'."
Fatima Hussaini (right) with friend Shive at a futsal tournament earlier this year. Photo: Supplied
Fatima says she's only had the chance to fulfil her dreams since being in New Zealand and can't imagine her life now without sport.
"I would miss it - that would be tough, you know, now my life is all about sport and football - it's my dream to become a professional football player."
Her parents are originally from Afghanistan but moved to Pakistan before she was born.
The contrast couldn't be greater right now between her life in New Zealand and what might have been, had her parents not fled their native country many years ago.
Women have not been able to take part in any sports since the Taliban seized control of Kabul in August. Girls from the Afghanistan junior national football team and members of the women's national football team were evacuated as fears for their safety grew.
Fatima Hussaini and her Melville United teammates. Photo: Supplied
Fatima stands out on the football field.
"I wear hijab and I have to wear long sleeves to cover my arms and leggings to cover my legs and wear my shorts on top of it. Because I'm Muslim, I'm not allowed to show any part of my body."
Fatima finds the hijab quite useful too because it keeps her hair out of her face while she's playing.
Early on, Fatima's parents didn't encourage her to play sport.
When Fatima started getting more serious about football both her club and high school coaches talked to her parents about letting her play and they've recently started actively supporting her interest in sport.
Fatima said their reluctance stemmed from concern around how she might be perceived by some in the Muslim community.
"Because I was a girl, they would worry what would other people think of me playing sport, you know. Girls have to do all the housework, apparently."
Fatima feels a lot of freedom in New Zealand and her Kiwi friends are often shocked when she tells them she couldn't play sport in Pakistan.
"They were surprised, they probably took for granted the freedom they had."
Fatima said it had been a good way for her to learn about the Kiwi culture and make friends and encourages other refugee girls to try sport.
"Yes 100 percent they should definitely - it's a great way to get their mind off sad stuff."
Starting from zero
The challenges Banin Jawad had to overcome when she first started playing sport in New Zealand were as basic as knowing what the name of a sport was.
"Like when people would say tennis I sometimes mis-understand - is it volleyball or something like that? I don't know what each games and their names are.
"When someone gave a description then I understood, otherwise I just get confused with the names," Banin laughs.
The 17-year-old was also born in Quetta, Pakistan.
Banin came to New Zealand as a refugee in 2015 with her family, where they settled in Palmerston North.
Young female refugees from Palmerston North participated in Volleyball Manawatu's girls-only event in Whanganui recently. Back row: Banin Jawad far left; Nasreen Muhammadi 3rd from left; Frishta Hassani 3rd from right Photo: Supplied
Apart from playing some cricket with her brothers in the neighbourhood, she never played any organised sport in Pakistan.
"It was not that I was not allowed to, it just wasn't really available. In my school we didn't really have sports as a subject ...I think they did not have much resources for that.
"Boys would go with their friends outside and play but girls they played their own games like girl games, like tag and some of our own local games."
Banin thought she would give sport a go when she came to New Zealand.
Her first taste of organised sport was around Year 10.
"I did football for my school. I thought I would try football because I played previously with intermediate during lunchtime with my brother and his friends."
The Awatapu College student doesn't play football any more. She also tried volleyball and cricket at school but it was hard because she was learning a brand new sport while coming to terms with English as a second language.
Sometimes the team environment wasn't very welcoming.
"Maybe it was me, my English was not really good ...I didn't know how to communicate with my team-mates so I didn't really like it, I didn't do the year after that."
Getting transport to sport isn't that easy for Banin either and her mother rarely gets to watch her play.
"She has no one to take her anywhere, my brother is most of the time busy and I don't have my licence so I bike to the arena for my games."
Banin is Muslim so wears a hijab and likes to dress modestly. She said one thing that has deterred her from sport are some of the uniforms.
"Sometimes I'm not comfortable with the outfit. If it's too tight I don't like it and if it's too short I feel really uncomfortable ...so I like wearing extra large."
Young female refugees from Palmerston North participated in Volleyball Manawatu's girls-only event in Whanganui recently. Photo: Supplied
She also feels a lot more comfortable when she's just playing sport around other girls.
"Like if my brother is with me I don't care. I just feel comfortable with my brother, if my brother is with me I can play with guys I don't care. But maybe, if they are Kiwi boys, then no."
She explains it's a cultural thing for her.
"So any male apart from my husband, my child, my father, and my brother is called a non-mahram, which means they can't see my head, they can't touch me or something like that so you know when you're playing sport things like that happen."
Nowadays Banin plays sport within her refugee community, where she feels more confident.
She's been playing volleyball through a new sports programme for young refugees in Palmerston North and thinks she'll continue because simply put - she enjoys it.
"I feel like when I play within my community I get confident more than if I'm playing with Kiwis because I don't always understand Kiwis."
The initiative has received a lot of support from people in the local Afghan community, who are passionate about empowering females through sport.
Their own space
Other young female refugees are also benefitting from the Palmerston North programme, which allows them to try sports in their own space.
Frishta Hassani's family came to New Zealand from Afghanistan about a year ago.
The 15-year-old never played sport where she lived in Ghazni.
"We never got this chance to play because we don't have that opportunity at school. We were living in a village so there was not as much sport for the girls, it was not available," Frishta said.
"There was no money or support and there wasn't any space to play and no programmes to join."
When she first tried sport in New Zealand, she was trialling for sports she knew nothing about.
"I trial for teams at school, I really wanted to play but when I go there I don't know how to play ...just feel uncomfortable when I don't know the rules and how to play and my English was not very good too.
"I tried netball, football, and volleyball but we are so late trying these sports compared to kids who grow up here, we are so behind."
Young female refugees from Palmerston North participated in Volleyball Manawatu's girls-only event in Whanganui recently. Photo: Supplied
But she's recently played volleyball through the refugee programme - "I really try to go and to learn, I really like it from the time that I get familiar with volleyball."
Nasreen Muhammadi was 10 when she moved to New Zealand from Pakistan.
She is Afghan but was born in Pakistan after her family thought it was safer to leave a volatile Afghanistan.
She moved to New Zealand with her family four years ago and it still amazes her how popular sport is for girls here.
Neither her or her mother had ever played any sport in Pakistan.
"Some of the boys played cricket but it wasn't available for girls. In Pakistan especially girls are not playing sport. I would have really liked to play sport but in my country there is nothing available for them," Nasreen said.
When she arrived in New Zealand, Nasreen had never even heard of netball, a sport most girls start playing when they are six or seven.
So when she first tried playing netball at school she was understandably nervous.
"They've been playing for longer than me."
But playing within her refugee community has given her the chance to get an introduction to sports like basketball, football, netball, and touch rugby.
"I have played netball with my community girls and recently I'm playing volleyball through the programme."
The 14-year-old is able to build up some basic skills and she's determined to trial again for school teams when she gets better - "I really want to improve."
For more information about the sports programme for young refugees in Palmerston North email Ali Muhammad-Jawad - wajahatalinz@gmail.com