Episode details

Asian Network,30 Sep 2026,60 mins

Doaa Shayea on strength, beauty and acceptance

Asian Network Trending

Available for 9 days

Doaa Shayea has spent much of her life feeling different. Growing up as a Muslim girl and wheelchair user in Devon, she saw how society viewed difference, beauty and strength. But sport changed the way she saw herself. After discovering wheelchair racing as a child, Doaa went on to become an elite powerlifter, representing Great Britain and becoming the first English athlete to wear a hijab at the Commonwealth Games. Along the way, she's challenged assumptions about what disabled women, Muslim women and a powerlifters can look like. She speaks to Amber Haque about how sport changed her life and how makeup also became a form of self-expression. She also opens up about finding faith on her own terms and building her inner and outer strength. Asian Network Trending: The biggest stories affecting Asian Network listeners across the UK with Amber Haque. Produced in Birmingham by Samsaara Productions for BBC Asian Network.

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