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

MJAS, a grassroots non-profit organisation, is currently training the girls—aged between 10 and 20—from 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.

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.

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.

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. “I tell my mother, ‘I’ll do all the housework, take care of my sisters, and even look after everyone else at home. Just let me study and play football’,” she says.

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.

(L to R) Savitri, Kumkum, Payal, Pooja and Gayatri
Gayatri, 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.

Payal, from Chachiyawas village, whose parents got her married when she was in fifth class, is putting up a fight against her ‘gauna’ (ritual where a child bride is sent to her marital home) and staying put with her family.

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.

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.

“My parents didn’t 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’ll play in a kurta churidar,” 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 over leading her life the way she wants.

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

For all these young football players, sports is a unifying tool. It doesn’t matter which caste or religion someone belongs to.

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 society and they will find more freedom for themselves.