Dylan Bettencourt
Pakistan may well be a cricket-obsessed nation, but access to the game remains an issue for their women.
The men in Pakistan grow up with a cricket bat and ball in their hand while the women watch from the sideline. They have to play cricket in the shadows as many of those who partake are humiliated for playing the sport they love.
In 2009, Saba Nazir, 17 years old at the time, was found playing cricket by her brother. He was so appalled that he beat her up and warned her to never play cricket again.
“You can kill me if you want, but I’m not going to stop playing cricket,” she screamed in anger, as revealed in the book Unveiling Jazbaa: A History of Pakistan Women’s Cricket.
“Even if you cut off my legs, I’ll crawl to the ground and play.”
It is a common occurrence in the Pakistan women’s cricket team to have players that were forced to play in hiding.
Their battle to play the sport they love means not the most skilled players make it to the national team, only those that survive long enough in the sport end up playing professionally.
Pakistan national team player Nida Dar used a fake name to play away from her hometown for eight years before she made her international debut.
Nobody in her family knew the talent she had for the sport until they found a picture of her playing in a local newspaper. Despite her achievement, the family was humiliated.
Pakistan’s longest serving women’s captain said parents are often misunderstood when they find out the dreams of their daughters.
“Our parents had to be courageous. The system doesn’t provide them or us with any sort of security,” she said.
“Most of the parents are misunderstood. They are trying to protect them.”
Sport follows the same pattern as other social activities such as dancing, acting and even singing where women in Pakistan are not allowed to perform in public.
Although the situation has improved in recent times, the barriers remain in place, restricting women from fulfilling their goals in entertainment or sport.
Image source: @TheCricketMonthly
