Nawaal Akram ( ar, نوال أكرم) is a

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

, model, athlete and disability rights campaigner. She was diagnosed with

Duchenne muscular dystrophy Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe type of muscular dystrophy that primarily affects boys. Muscle weakness usually begins around the age of four, and worsens quickly. Muscle loss typically occurs first in the thighs and pelvis fol ...

at the age of six, and was forcefully removed from education against her wishes at the age of 10 by the school; she became a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

user at the age of 12. She has since founded Muscular Dystrophy Qatar to raise awareness of the condition, and was named one of

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Career

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

Pakistani

Nawaal Akram is one of six children to Mohammed and Saima Akram. At the age of six, she was diagnosed with

, and began using a

by the age of 12 after falling and breaking her leg. Her condition led to Akram being bullied by other children, which was ignored by the teachers in her school. Akram was then removed from her school, as they did not want to take responsibility for a physically disabled child. Her parents threatened to sue the school but withdrew as it would have affected the education of her siblings who were studying there. Applications to other schools followed, but these were rejected on the basis of her condition or nationality. Special schools were contacted, but she was rejected from those as she did not have a mental disability. Akram eventually tried

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

, but this was ineffective as it used part-time tutors. Because of the lack of access to education, she began to feel depressed. Akram started to work at Mada, a non-project disability organisation in Qatar. While there, she learnt about how

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

can be used to promote ideas. She has since helped children with disabilities in Qatar and middle east get an education and performed stand-up comedy as a

with Stand Up Comedy Qatar (SUCQ), the country's first and only collective of stand-up comedians, that was started in November 2010. Akram also works a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

. Akram took up the

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

sport

Boccia Boccia ( ) is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – '. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes ...

, and expanded her social media presence including her Instagram nawaalakram &

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel "Nawaal akram". In 2016, she founded the organisation Muscular Dystrophy Qatar to raise awareness of the condition within the country. She was named one of

...
's '' 100 Women'' programme, signifying her as one of the most influential and inspiration women of the year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akram, Nawaal People from Doha Women comedians Qatari Muslims People with muscular dystrophy Qatari people of Pakistani descent Living people 1990s births BBC 100 Women