My father being in the Indian Army gave us a chance to move to a different city every 3-4 years. Shifting to a new place meant a new school and new friends but the best memories I have from studying in Army Schools came from the emphasis on Physical Activity and Sports.
I can easily call myself a city girl, as until I completed my post-graduation, I had never visited even one village. Fortunately, in July 2017, I had started working as an India Fellow, in a government school at Bhoola, a remote tribal village in Rajasthan. After just a month of spending time with children here, I realized that there was no emphasis on sports and physical activity in the regular curriculum of the school, and not enough inclusion for girls, I offered to spend my time after school hours to engage girls in sports activities. However, the children expressed their inability to stay back after school, as they had to help their parents in the fields and in household chores. Then I decided to spend time over the weekends to help them explore interests in art, music, dance, and sports where I also introduced them to kho-kho and volleyball.
Over time, the girls started developing interest and stamina in sports as well as a penchant for learning new things. Noticing that the girls lacked the necessary resources, support, and exposure to the outside world and that an all-boys team was representing the same school in Kabbadi at a district-level sports tournament, I asked other teachers in the school if these girls could also be trained for the tournament. The teachers expressed skepticism over the idea and felt that the girls wouldn’t be safe, and their parents wouldn’t provide consent. They went on to say that it was a big risk, especially considering that the girls wouldn’t be continuing these activities later in life.
No sooner, when I heard that another sports tournament was being organized specially for the Scheduled Tribes by the Rajasthan Government, and knowing that the girls were keen to play, I directly approached the school principal - only to get his disapproval. I did not get discouraged easily and went ahead to meet the principal of Rohida School, who was the temporary authority for granting an order to the school where I was teaching.
Additionally, during the parent-teacher meet, I met with all the parents and convinced them to give this opportunity to their daughters. After a long struggle, the consent and funds for the tournament were finally granted. From wearing boy’s uniforms for their first block-level match at the tournament to later having their own uniforms for the finals, the journey was no less than a roller coaster.
To my joy, these girls, who played a block-level tournament for the first time in Kojra, stood first in kho-kho. Seeing my enthusiasm on the ground, I was felicitated by the sports authority with a Chief Guest Memento. The girls’ team then went on to represent the Pindwada block at the Sirohi Pavilion for a district-level tournament, where they once again clinched victory. With their prominence rising, they were then selected to represent the Sirohi district at a state-level tournament. Here, although the team stood 4th, the government granted a monthly pension of Rs500 to each player as a token of recognition. Two of them have also been selected for the national-level tournament.
It has been an overwhelming experience and a matter of pride - not just for me and the students, but also for the whole village. Ramila* from 5th grade said enthusiastically, “I want to go for the tournament next time”. The teachers were indeed surprised and awestruck with the laudable performance of the girls and unanimously agreed to support them wholeheartedly in sports from thereon.
We have a long history of women participating in sports. It is a history marked by division and discrimination but also one filled with major accomplishments which led to important advances in gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Female participation in sports challenges gender stereotypes and bias and is, therefore, a vehicle to promote equality. Women in sports leadership can shape attitude towards their capabilities as leaders and decision-makers, especially since sports is traditionally considered to be a male domain. This incident was a major turning point in my life, as not only it empowered these young girls but made me understand the ground issues at a deeper level and gave meaning to my work. This event encouraged me and made my motivation stronger to work for young girls and women from the marginalized community on the issues of gender discrimination in all forms. My efforts for young girls and women didn't just stop here, as I continued to work with the Government and currently I am working as a Youth Accountability Advocate on SDG-5: Gender Equality.