Football for freedom: Girls from rural Rajasthan play ball to fight patriarchy

Girls—aged between 10 and 20—from villages including Chachiyawas, Hansiyawas, Kharekhadi, Tedvon Ki Dhani and Padampura around Ajmer, Rajasthan, are finding confidence and perseverance in playing foot...

Oct 17, 2022, 17:24 IST3 min

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MJAS, a grassroots non-profit organisation, is currently training the girls&mdashaged between 10 and 20&mdashfrom villages including Chachiyawas, Hansiyawas, Kharekhadi, Tedvon Ki Dhani and...

Image by Amit Verma

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The young players participate in warm-up activities ahead of a friendly match among teams from Chachiyawas, Hansiyawas, Kharekhadi, Tedvon Ki Dhani and Padampura villages.

Image by Amit Verma

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Teams from Chachiyawas and Tedvon Ki Dhani play a friendly match at the football ground of the government school of Bhawani Khera village. The ground that was allocated to the girls was ful...

Image by Amit Verma

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Gayatri Panwar, who is in class 10 in Chachiyawas village, says playing football gives her a sense of confidence, and helps her believe that her aspirations are within reach. &ldquoI tell m...

Image by Amit Verma

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Savitri (left) and Gayatri (right) with their mother Rekha at their home in Chachiyawas village. The girls are also encouraging their mother Rekha to speak up against social prejudices in d...

Image by Amit Verma

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(L to R) Savitri, Kumkum, Payal, Pooja and GayatriGayatri, and Savitri, along with their two sisters Kumkum and Pooja draw inspiration from their friend and neighbour Payal Prajapati, 18, w...

Image by Amit Verma

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Payal, from Chachiyawas village, whose parents got her married when she was in fifth class, is putting up a fight against her &lsquogauna&rsquo (ritual where a child bride is sent to her ma...

Image by Amit Verma

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Payal with her grandmother Hagami Prajapati inside their home. Payal happens to be among the handful of girls from Chachiyawas village to travel outside Rajasthan. The football player has p...

Image by Amit Verma

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Sapna Gujjar, 18, who is from Hansiyawas village, has gone on to captain Ajmer&rsquos district team at state and national tournaments. She was selected among 600 applicants to be a youth am...

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&ldquoMy parents didn&rsquot allow me to play, saying football is only for boys, and they did not want me to wear shorts. They eventually agreed, reluctantly, when I said that I&rsquoll pla...

Image by Amit Verma

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Being a senior player from team Hansiyawas, Sapna plays the role of a mentor for the younger girls.

Image by Amit Verma

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For all these young football players, sports is a unifying tool. It doesn&rsquot matter which caste or religion someone belongs to.

Image by Amit Verma

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An old patriarch and his grandson from Bhavani Khera watch a football match between the teams of Hansiyavas and Padampura. The girls hope there will be a wind of change in their patriarchal...

Image by Amit Verma