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

<p>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 Padampura. About 40 percent of these girls are either engaged or married, according to Indira Pancholi, a founding member of the MJAS. Their parents are largely daily-wage earners, small farmers or labourers.</p>

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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 Padampura. About 40 percent of these girls are either engaged or married, according to Indira Pancholi, a founding member of the MJAS. Their parents are largely daily-wage earners, small farmers or lab

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 full of stones and garbage. For close to a month, the girls spent an hour daily after school cleaning up, says Pancholi of MJAS.

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 my mother, &lsquoI&rsquoll do all the housework, take care of my sisters, and even look after everyone else at home. Just let me study and play football&rsquo,&rdquo she says.

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 daily life. Rekha says she will make sure her daughters grow up to be well-educated and independent.

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, who is one of most successful players in their village.

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 marital home) and staying put with her family.

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 participated in tournaments across states, sometimes bringing home prize money up to Rs10,000 or more. This has earned social pride for her family.

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 ambassador for YuWaah, an initiative by Unicef and the government of Rajasthan. Last year, along with two others, she received the government&rsquos Indira Priyadarshini Award of Rs1 lakh as a district to

Image by Amit Verma

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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 play in a kurta churidar,&rdquo recollects Sapna Gujjar, who started playing football just for the love of the sport, and then figured that if she excelled in it, she would have more agency and control ove

Image by Amit Verma