'Don't play kabaddi': Indian girls have dreams but face backlash

“Don’t play kabaddi anymore. It is not a good sport and it looks bad for our khandaan [family’s honour],” Farheen Chaudhari, 19, was admonished by her 21-year-old brother. For four months, Chaudhari had worked as a mentor with the Khula Aasman programme of Mumbai-based non-profit Apnalaya.

The programme brought together youngsters living in Govandi, one of Mumbai’s largest slums, to play kabaddi, and with it acquire life skills and learn about gender parity, healthcare and their fundamental rights. Through her role as a mentor, Chaudhari had seen her own confidence grow and since her parents never objected, her brother’s words came as a shock and a disappointment.

Soon her parents began to agree with her brother, and told her to stop playing. Apnalaya’s social workers and Chaudhari’s friends tried to convince them otherwise, but they did not give in.

Finally, Chaudhari took a month’s break from mentorship to convince her brother, and eventually got back to work.

“It is not just her playing the sport, families observe that their daughters are getting more assertive--they are speaking up and making their opinions heard,” said Malathy Madathilezham, a social worker with Apnalaya, “Mentors also get a stipend, so there is this sense of confidence in these girls that fazes male family members as it questions the status quo.” Read Complete Article