Have to dress "like a man" or "cut her hair": the fight of Pakistani women to play cractor

Bisma Amjad plays the Criquet.She aspires to play internationally and was chosen for the Pakistani selection of the Criquet World Cup for children under 19.However, with the irruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, as she was a woman, there was no place to practice, so she dressed as a man to compete with the male cricket players in the "Gully Crquet", a variantstreet.

"The boys used to play Gully-Críquet, even during the pandemic," he explains."But the displacement of the girls was restricted, so we couldn't play. I had no choice but to dress as a man and practice with them," says Amjad, 19, who played in First Division and Regional games.

In the traditional circles of Karachi, the most populous city of Pakistan, Amjad constantly listens to comments such as "Your skin will become darker" or "It is a game of boys and you are wasting time. Take a course that helps you after marriage".

He explains that many girls from conservative families or rural areas dress as boys to be able to play the crust and go unnoticed."A friend of mine cut her hair to be able to play without a girl being noticed," says Amjad."Women who practice sports face many difficulties in our society," she adds.

"What happened?"

Amjad's father supported her and took her to the games, but when the man became ill the young woman had to stop playing for a few months."When my father recovered and obtained his approval, I learned to bike to be able to move alone," she says.

Cycling brought additional problems: "Men said 'Look, look, is riding a bicycle.' Before he wore a handkerchief, what happened to him?"

"I give my savings to my parents to prove that I win some money. I tell you to give me a few more months and I will prove it," he explains, while to play with a Crquet ball.His parents now gave him a year of margin to enter the national team or leave the Criquet.

Amjad was chosen for Pakistan's U19 team that was going to play the World Cup in 2021, but was canceled due to the pandemic and now he has to continue playing the first-class cractage to have some hope of entering the national team.

In search of opportunities

Tener que vestirse “como un hombre” o “cortarse el pelo”: la lucha de las mujeres pakistaníes para jugar al críquet

The Criquet is the most practiced sport and seen in Pakistan, but not the feminine.This Thursday began the seventh season of the Super League of Pakistan (PSL) of male cractor, which will last until February 27, and the expectation was maximum.The League welcomes six teams from different parts of Pakistan and promotes the Crquet, helps male players to make a living and a position in the national team.

Waiting for the Women's League

The Pakistan Criminal Board (PCB) has not yet proposed a calendar for the women's league he had promised three years ago.Its president, Ramiz Raja, confirmed that there will be.

The news glad the captain of the Pakistani female crust, Javeria Khan."It is a very positive news, since it will encourage more women to play Criquet," she says, adds: "Men have many tournaments of this type in which they can show their talent, but women do not have those opportunities.".

"Here, a woman has to work twice as a man to demonstrate her talent," he says."Gender discrimination exists throughout the world, but in Asia the problem is more serious."

Khan says that when the PCB began to work in the structure of the female crust, the players began to obtain contracts."The incentives in the profession attract investment. The PCB was doing talent search programs and sending equipment throughout the country," he says.

Family support

Khan is considered fortunate for having had the support of his family despite proceeding from a rural area, Torghar, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.She explains that her father was proud of her and "used to inform the people of the people of her when my party was going to be played. They listened to him on the radio."

"All families should support their daughters to practice the Criquet and other sports," he says."The mentality of society is a huge obstacle, but we can fight it with education," she says.

Classes in secret

Asfa Hussain, 16, an emerging talent from Karachi, hid his father's fondness for his father.Her mother used to take her and look for her from the Critastic Academy in secret."When my father finally found out, he got very angry. It was my mother who convinced him to give me a chance to prove my worth," says Hussain.

"The moment they selected me for a test for the championship for children under 17 years made my father feel very proud. I am lucky to have the support of my father and my mother, who run with my expenses.The regional teams pay us less and in the clubs do not pay us, "he says.

Hussain played at the club that won the championship of the Province of Sindh last year.He explains that it is a expensive game: you have to take care of the diet, transport, gym and also buy the best team if you are a batter.

"The PCB has to give incentives to the players. The male cractor is broadcast on television, the female does not," he says.

"When the female crust has broad television coverage, then we can fight against the stereotypes that exist. We will also begin to achieve sponsors," he says.

No optimistic perspectives

Hussain played with the boys in his school and says that the State has to invest in the female crust in schools.Khan agrees: "Our main problem is for the bases to play Crits and, once we have hunted talents in schools, these players can nourish and form."

In 2020, the PCB allocated 5.5% of its budget to the female cractor and 19.3% to the male international crescent.In 2016, Bismah Maroof, excapitana from Pakistan's female cractor, raised the question of the important gender wage gap with the PCB after it was discovered that the country's male crescent players earned the equivalent of almost 77,000 dollars (69,175 euros)per year, while their female counterparts only earned $ 12,000 (10,780 euros).

However, the PCB refused to answer the questions about the remuneration and evolution of the female crowd when The Guardian newspaper contacted them.

Najam Sethi, former president of the PCB, affirms: "Not even the families of the cities are willing to let their daughters practice professional sport, let's not talk about the families of rural areas. Now that the school crescent is disappearing, [[Because of] the scarcity of land and expenses, the perspectives of women in sport are not optimistic. "

Emma Reverter translation