I come from a family that had no privileges, our neighbourhood wasn’t and still isn’t a place that provides and nourishes for their own. For us, every dream seemed impossible. I come from generations of people who had to work hard to put food on the table.

In my country, football is very democratic, that is why it is so popular, and that is how my father was able to experience a completely different reality from everybody else, from generations of struggle. Sports gave him a new life, a life of possibilities, sports gave him the will to work hard because for the first time a family member was able to dream.

I always understood the importance of going back home every year, see my roots and my relatives and tell them about the world we saw and the stories we lived. My father always told me: “This is thanks to sports, how can someone not love sports?”

I couldn’t run away from it. But one question was always on my mind. Where are women in sports?

Now I found a way to answer my question using photography, and show little girls where these women are. They are here, they are everywhere.

In Qawiya, I document women in sports in Qatar.

This is a project about passion, fighting, dreams, inspirations, and strength. I admire people who follow their dreams, and this is a tribute to them, to these women who represent something powerful, and also, this is a tribute to my upbringing, to my past, and my father.