Women cricketers in Valley demand for Equality in Burqas & Hijabs

Women cricketers in the Baramulla city of Jammu & Kashmir have pitched their voices together to be allowed to play cricket in Burqas and Hijabs. Apart from taking on the opponents, they’re also fighting out various religious complexities which don’t allow them to go out without burqas or hijabs. At the same time, they wish to play cricket for their university team but they can’t play with their burqas or hijabs on.

The story of Insha and Rabya from Baramulla’s Government Women’s College is echoing around the country. Both these talented players raised their voices against the stereotypes which prohibit them from doing what they want. Insha, a 21-year-old fourth-semester student, says she wants to stay independent without any fear after winning this year’s inter-university cricket championship in the Valley last week.

The 21-year-old says that people did taunt her for playing cricket with the burqa, but later she managed to ignore and though the journey hasn’t been smooth, she says her family has been really supportive. “I was amazed by Insha’s performance and wanted her to do something in the field. However, lack of infrastructure in our college and the absence of any clear-cut policy on sports were stumbling blocks,” said Rehmat-Ullah Mir, an Urdu professor in the college.

Rabya on the other side has won the confidence of her coach, but her parents granted her the permission to play but only with her burqa on. “I cannot go against the wishes of my teachers at Darasgah (A religious school where she gets her Islamic teaching),” says Rabya.

Approached the government for help but never got a reply

Insha said to CNN News 18 that they had approached the government of Jammu and Kashmir to provide a training center, but they never got it. She also said that she had learned to do stretching and other exercises during her camps outside the state. “I learned stretching and warm-up exercises during my camps outside the state. We also want to do something in sports and have petitioned the government many times for opening a training center here but to no avail,” she said.

Rabya is the eldest of four siblings and follows a lot of her customs strictly. She knows that she might have to give up on cricket as this is just a transient phase of her life. She said she knows she has to set “an example” to her siblings and her coach Gurdeep Singh recalls the incident where  Rabya was the only girl who walked away during the photograph session as her religious teachings prohibited her from getting photographed.

Insha’s father Bashir Ahmed Mir, who runs a fruit business in Baramulla, believes cricket has helped her grow a spirit. He recalled that she was a tomboy in her childhood and all he wanted her to do was pursue her dream by working hard for it.

“I don’t care about what people say and would rather focus on what my daughter wants. She was a tomboy from the time she was a child. All I wanted her to do is pursue her dream. I am thankful to her coaches Gurdeep Saheb and Showkat Ahmed for training her well. Cricket is only a game but they have developed in her a fighting spirit,” He said.

One of the groundsmen Mohammed Ashraf Parray also is very proud of what these girls are doing in their life. He vehemently asks a question as to why people discriminate on the basis of gender when we live in a world where girls are equal to boys. “I feel very happy when these students play and win. I feel that my efforts have not gone waste,” he said.