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 football and scoring goals on the field and in life
By: Amit Verma
Sapna Gujjar, 18, who is from Hansiyawas village, has gone on to captain Ajmer’s district team at state and national tournaments. She was selected among 600 applicants to be a youth ambassador for YuWaah, an initiative by Unicef and the government of Rajasthan. Last year, along with two others, she received the government’s Indira Priyadarshini Award of Rs1 lakh as a district topper in Class 12. This has given her the confidence to pursue her ambition to play football at the national and international level, while also studying for UPSC examinations.
