Pakistani girls break the stereotype in a conservative nation

Female cricketers in Pakistan are breaking the stereotype by playing cricket well after midnight. In a conservative country like Pakistan, where religious bigotry is predominant especially against women, it’s quite astounding to see such a development. A group of young Pakistani girls known as the “Girls in Dhabas” sought to increase female presence in public areas majorly frequented by men.

This group also resorted to cricket as an alternate medium for their objective. And in some seasons the game was played even at nights. In 2015 Hadeel Obaid, a cricket journalist launched her new venture Khelo Kricket. It was Pakistan’s first online hub which kept track records starting from team news, player profiles, scores at school, university and company levels.

KheloKricket also recently held a Women’s Night tournament comprising of eight teams, hosted at a Karachi neighbourhood ground. The match timings would usually be from 10 pm and would go on till 2:30 am.

Thrilled that my tiny venture @KheloKricket is doing its bit to encourage cricket! Today's piece on the women's tournament in @etribune! pic.twitter.com/DhD5VuF3xD

— Hadeel Obaid (@hadouken51) June 8, 2017

Obaid, the founder of KheloKricket was quoted as saying by the Dawn as saying, “The matches would usually be over around 2.30am as we would start at around 10 pm. Most of the spectators at the ground were the parents or older siblings of the players.”

“Many of the girls already play for their school teams, academies or clubs and the others found out about the tournament through them. There were eight players per side and though it did turn out to be a competitive event, most just played for fun.”

Tape ball cricket tournaments are gradually garnering popularity amongst girls in city like Karachi. It is a tennis ball covered with electrical tapes. It is predominantly used in the streets of Pakistan as a cheaper alternative to a cricket ball. The ball is also less likely to cause bodily hurt or damage objects upon impact. The rules of tape-ball cricket are also very simplified and designed to adapt to local conditions.