Twenty-four year old Malika-e-Noor practices mixed martial arts pad-work with her husband Ehtisham Karim at Fight Fortress Islamabad on a daily basis. For Malika, who is vice captain of Pakistan’s national women’s football team, this is her second love … until the football season resumes.

She is also six months’ pregnant — the couple is expecting a baby later this year. However, this has not stopped Malika from pursuing her dream.

“I am ending my sixth month now. I started exercising when I got into the fourth month. The first trimester is the hardest and that’s when the chances of having a miscarriage are the highest. Now I am in rhythm. I do every exercise that I did earlier but have just decreased the intensity,” she says.

Malika-e-Noor is the vice-captain of the national women’s football team and a keen practitioner of mixed martial arts. She’s also in the family way …

A general lack of awareness about health and fitness means women are often confined to the couch once they conceive. But such a life is hard for an individual who is fond of movement and physical activity. In the beginning, Malika did not know how to go about it.

“Initially I asked doctors about the kind of exercises I should do. I remember when I started working out in my fourth month, I felt some abdominal pain. I rushed to the doctor and her recommendation was that I should leave exercise altogether and be on rest completely,” she says.

All she knew was that she felt frustrated when she could not even move much, let alone play football.

“Most doctors say that you shouldn’t exercise. But once you tell them your history that you’re an athlete and they carry out all the tests — your ultrasound etc — and everything is healthy and normal, then they kind of give you the green signal. So you can do it lightly. But I go for monthly visits, and keep everything in check.”

Since time immemorial, most people all over the world considered pre-natal exercise a no-go thing. It was only when a second wave of feminism made inroads into American society that medical research also began to put this age-old wisdom to the test.

However, there is a debate in the medical community about the kinds and intensity of exercises that can be done during pregnancy. According to the most recent data from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC), exercising for pregnant women is not only recommended but it also helps with complications during birth. The guidelines provided emphasise the importance of not gaining too much weight during pregnancy, as this can be a cause of caesarean section, gestational hypertension, and high or low birth weight.

According to the findings of a study titled A selective review of prenatal exercise guidelines since the 1950s until present: Written for women, health care professionals, and female athletes, published by the Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University in 2015, there should not be a ‘one-size-fits- all’ formula for pregnant women. Each woman’s exercise regimen should be specific to her and her exercise preferences. It also needs to take into account whether she is new to exercise, experienced or a competitive athlete.

Internationally renowned athletes such as Serena Williams and Miesha Tate have become testaments to a woman’s strength during pregnancy. However, Malika feels that it is just as important to understand your own body and history.

“The thing with international players such as Serena and Miesha is that they have been playing since they were five or six years old. So they don’t face so much difficulty in the first or second trimester. Pakistani female athletes don’t have that kind of history. I wouldn’t really think it’s a wise idea to compete during pregnancy, but to continue training is actually a good thing,” she says.

She recommends starting slow by choosing exercises with body weight in stationary position and making use of isometrics.

“It is better not to do full pushups but beginner level pushups like doing them while leaning against the wall are fine. Lower body exercises are also easy to do, or you could simply focus on your shoulders. Avoid pressure from the core and abdomen area. I don’t do cardio, as it increases the heartbeat and that is a no-go area. Most importantly, do not work out on extremely hot days, because it is likely to decrease your blood pressure.”

Another important subject that Malika touches upon is that society needs to rid itself of stereotypical thinking that limits a woman’s life completely once she is in the family way. In fact, she feels that a large part of the myths do not even have much to do with pregnancy but have more to do with the fact that a girl has to live her life in a certain way.

“I remember I recently accompanied my mother-in-law to the doctor for her check-up. I just commented in passing that I was experiencing some pain in my lower back. The doctor asked me questions about what I do and I said I am a football player and I have been exercising with weights. His immediate response was, ‘Girls shouldn’t be exercising with weights at all.’ There is still that mindset that lifting weights is not meant for girls, regardless of pregnancy.”

She credits her husband Ehtisham for being her support system and for encouraging her throughout her career.

“My husband is even crazier about sports than me,” she says. “He wants me to be a role model for other girls so that people start thinking differently.”

The couple planned their baby at such a time so that Malika would not have to take a long break from professional football.

The Pakistan Football Federation was banned by FIFA in October 2017 for “undue third-party interference.” This means that both the men’s and women’s national teams could not compete internationally.

“I thought this was the perfect time to have a baby,” she says. “So as soon as I got the news I was extremely happy that I had conceived. Earlier this year, FIFA lifted the ban. So I am hopeful that by the time the tournaments start, I will be done with post partum recovery.”

For now, she is looking forward to motherhood and is also extremely happy that a former sportsman is now Pakistan’s Prime Minister.

“I am glad that someone from a sports background has come into power. We are hoping that he will improve the conditions and funding of the federations,” she says, ending the conversation on an optimistic note.

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 2nd, 2018