Girls, uninterrupted: India's sportswomen let it rip
Over the last few years, young sportswomen have exploded onto the global stage with medal-winning performances. Their stories of perseverance amid hardship are now spurring a legion of determined girls around the country
By: Madhu Kapparath
Cricket
Located in outer Delhi, Shahbad Dairy is a badland with one of the highest rates of missing children. Sant Lal, an activist from Chitrakoot, arrived here in 2007 and set up Saksham, an initiative to empower schoolchildren with support from CRY. In 2014, alarmed by news of abductions and rapes, Lal began thinking of an initiative that would empower girls. He thought of a sport that connects with the young and old alike, and started an all-girls cricket team in 2015. They played a local tournament against a boys’ teams. When the girls won and paraded their trophy through the narrow streets, the message came home.
Located in outer Delhi, Shahbad Dairy is a badland with one of the highest rates of missing children. Sant Lal, an activist from Chitrakoot, arrived here in 2007 and set up Saksham, an initiative to empower schoolchildren with support from CRY. In 2014, alarmed by news of abductions and rapes, Lal began thinking of an initiative that would empower girls. He thought of a sport that connects with the young and old alike, and started an all-girls cricket team in 2015. They played a local tournament against a boys’ teams. When the girls won and paraded their trophy through the narrow streets, the message came home.
