Hijab clad women cricketers pitch for equality

Agencies
October 2, 2017

Kashmir, Oct 2: Her hijab firmly in place, she slings her bat across her shoulders and rides her Scooty to college and practice, challenging not just her rivals on the cricket field but also societal and religious stereotypes.

As captain of the women's cricket team in Baramulla's Government Women's College, Insha is one of the young women setting trends in this suburban town in north Kashmir and in the Valley.

"Bekhauff azad rehna hai mujhe (I want to stay independent without any fear)," sings the 21-year-old fourth-semester student of the Government Women's College who successfully led her team to lift this year's inter-university cricket championship in the Valley last week.

Her brave words -- taken from the title track of Aamir Khan's talk show "Satyamev Jayate" -- are echoed by others who walk the tightrope between tradition and passion, playing cricket even if it means doing so with their hijabs, a scarf covering the head and neck. Some even play with the burqa.

Like Rabya, a first-year student, an all-rounder who manages to bat, bowl and field with the burqa when she's in Baramulla. When she plays in Srinagar, she opts for the hijab.

"I cannot go against the wishes of my teachers at Darasgah ( a religious school where she gets her Islamic teaching)," said Rabya.

The all-rounder on the team, the daughter of a daily wage labourer, is from the Jamaat-e-Islamia dominated old town of Baramulla.

Insha, too, wore her burqa when she first started playing, but the patriarchal society in which lives did not take it well and often taunted her. An undeterred Insha now wears a hijab and confidently drives her Scooty to college with her bat.

"The journey has not been smooth. When I walked in my tracks with a cricket bat, people would complain to my father. My family was supportive," said Insha, a multi-talented sportsperson who has represented the Jammu and Kashmir women teams in not just cricket but also volleyball.

Her passion for cricket was noticed by her Urdu professor and was backed by college authorities who levelled a small ground for cricket practice. "I was amazed by Insha's performance and wanted her to do something in the field. However, lack of infrastructure in our college and the absence of any clear-cut policy on sports were stumbling blocks," said Rehmat-Ullah Mir, who attributes his broad-minded thinking to his education in Hyderabad from where he completed his PhD in Urdu.

"A campaign on social media was started with the hope of getting some help, but the comments from the male-dominated society were discouraging. Then, with the help of the college principal, we decided to form a team and compete within the university," he added.

Building a team was a herculean task. Two physical trainers of the college -- Gurdeep Singh and Showkat Ahmed - helped train women students. Insha, who had played at the national level, helped with additional inputs on warm-up exercises.

"I learnt stretching and warm-up exercises during my camps outside the state. We also want to do something in sports and have petitioned the government many times for opening a training centre here but to no avail," she said.

The other big hurdle was overcoming familial opposition. Consent from parents was mandatory.

"We have some good players like Rabya. Her parents agreed but only if she was allowed to play with her burqa on. Others also gave their consent but only if they are allowed to wear their hijab," said coach Gurdeep Singh.

When the entire team was being photographed after winning the inter-university tournament, Rabya was the only girl who walked away as her religious teachings prohibited her from getting photographed.

Rabya knows cricket may just be a transient phase in her life and she might have to one day give it up. Being the eldest of four siblings, she said she knows she has to set "an example".

Insha's father Bashir Ahmed Mir, who runs a fruit business in Baramulla, said he is proud of his daughter and hopes she will continue with cricket.

"Kuch toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna," he said, recalling an old Bollywood song.

"I don't care about what people say and would rather focus on what my daughter wants. She was a tomboy from the time she was a child. All I wanted her to do is pursue her dream. I am thankful to her coaches Gurdeep Saheb and Showkat Ahmed for training her well. Cricket is only a game but they have developed in her a fighting spirit," he added.

Gardener Mohammed Ashraf Parray, who doubles up as groundsman, also takes pride in the girls' achievements.

"I feel very happy when these students play and win. I feel that my efforts have not gone waste," he said.

He regrets the many restrictions on girls. "Today, girls are equal to boys in everything. Then why this discrimination?"

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News Network
February 29,2020

Melbourne, Feb 29: India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday said the team management has given Shafali Verma the freedom to play her natural game, which has set the Women's T20 World Cup ablaze.

The 16-year-old announced her emergence on the global stage by becoming the second highest run getter in the ongoing tournament. She has so far scored 161 runs, hitting 18 fours and nine sixes in four matches at an astounding strike rate of 161.

On Saturday, Shafali hit a 34-ball 47 to steer India to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka after spinner Radha Yadav produced a career-best 4/23.

"Shafali is someone who loves to play big shots, and we don't want to stop her. She should continue doing the same and she should continue enjoying her game," Harmanpreet said after the match.

India entered the semifinals with an all-win record as they led Group A with eight points from four games and the captain insisted it is important to continue the winning momentum.

"It's really important to keep the momentum when you are winning games. You really work hard, so you can't afford to lose that momentum. You can't bowl same pace and lengths on these wickets, so you need to keep rotating the bowlers."

"Today I tried to be positive and got a few boundaries. In the upcoming games I'll try to give my best," Harmanpreet said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Atapattu rued the reprieves given by her side to Shafali in the form of two dropped catches.

"I think that score was not enough, we lost couple of chances, specially Shafali, it was hard to stop her," she said.

"Yeah, I got a good start but unfortunately got out in the 10th, would have wanted to stay in there till the 16th or the 17th over. I hope we can beat Bangladesh in our last game," she added.

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News Network
January 12,2020

New Delhi, Jan 12: Flamboyant India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was on Saturday pulled out of the India A team's tour of New Zealand after he failed mandatory fitness tests in Mumbai.

The selectors had picked him in the squad without testing him in the Ranji games.

Tamil Nadu captain Vijay Shankar has been drafted into the India A team and he has already boarded the flight to New Zealand where they will play two 50-over warm-up games, three List A games and two four-day 'Tests' against the home A team.

It has been learnt that Pandya failed a couple of mandatory fitness tests and his scores were well below the permissible range suggesting that he is far from being fit for international cricket. In this situation, pulling him out of the India A squad was expected.

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News Network
February 14,2020

London, Feb 14: Former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club's president Kumar Sangakkara has said that the 2009 Lahore terror attack taught him about his own character and values.

His remarks came as MCC arrived in Pakistan to play T20I matches against Lahore Qalandars. This will mark his first return to the Gaddafi Stadium, where a shocking atrocity took place when the Sri Lankan bus was attacked by terrorists.

The Sri Lankan team was on their way to Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium for a Test match with Pakistan in 2009 when terrorists from the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) fired indiscriminately at their bus. The attack left eight people dead and injured seven Sri Lankan players and staff.

Ever since the incident, no cricket team toured Pakistan to play a cricket series, however, the landscape changed last year as Sri Lanka paid a visit to the country to play a series across formats. After that, even Bangladesh toured Pakistan and now there are talks of South Africa going to the country to play a series.

"I don't think I need any flashbacks, because I remember that day and those moments so very clearly. It's not something I relive or wallow in. But it's an experience you should never forget, because it gives you perspective in terms of life and sport, and you learn a lot about your own values and characters, and those of others," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Sangakkara as saying.

"I have no reservations about talking about it, it's not something that upsets me, but these sorts of experiences can only strengthen you. Today I consider myself very fortunate to be able to come back here to Lahore, and at the same time remember the sacrifice of all those who lost their lives that day," he added.

Sangakkara said that every human has his own way of dealing with such adversity.

"I think everyone deals with it in their own personal way. But at the same time, what really unites us is that you face adversity and you face challenges, and you have to get past it, and you've got to do that successfully. It's about moving forwards and upwards and being part of cricket. Being Sri Lankan you learn those lessons quite well, because, throughout our civil war, cricket was a unique vibe," Sangakkara said.

"We speak about the attack at various times. We even have a laugh about it, in terms of what we went through because it helps sometimes to look at it with a bit of humour, even though there was a tragic loss of life, and other serious injuries within that incident," he added.

MCC in the weeklong tour will take on Lahore Qalandars in a T20 match at the Gaddafi Stadium later today.

Kumar Sangakkara will lead the MCC's twelve-man squad for the tour, which includes Ravi Bopara, Roelof van der Merwe, Ross Whiteley among others.

Fixtures for the upcoming tour are as follows:

MCC vs Lahore Qalandars, T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, February 14

MCC vs Pakistan Shaheens, ODI, Aitchison College, February 16

MCC vs Northern, Aitchison College, T20I, February 17

MCC vs Multan Sultans, Aitchison College, T20I, February 19.

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