Women cricketers pitch for equality in burkhas, hijabs

BARAMULLA: Her hijab firmly in place, she slings her bat across her shoulders and rides her Scooty to college and practice, challenging not just her rivals on the cricket field but also societal and religious stereotypes.

As captain of the women’s cricket team in Baramulla’s Government Women’s College, Insha is one of the young women setting trends in this suburban town in north Kashmir and in the Valley.

“Bekhauff azad rehna hai mujhe (I want to stay independent without any fear),” sings the 21-year-old fourth semester student of the Government Women’s College who success- fully led her team to lift this year’s inter-university cricket championship in the Valley last week.

Her brave words — taken from the title track of Aamir Khan’s talk show Satyamev Jayate — are echoed by others who walk the tightrope between tradition and passion, playing cricket even if it means doing so with their hijabs, a scarf covering the head and neck. Some even play with the burkha.

Like Rabya, a first year student, an all-rounder who manages to bat, bowl and field with the burkha when she’s in Baramulla. When she plays in Srinagar, she opts for the hijab.

“I cannot go against the wishes of my teachers at Darasgah (religious school where she gets her Islamic teaching),” said Rabya. The all-rounder on the team, the daughter of a daily wage labourer, is from the Jamaat-e-islamia dominated old town of Baramulla.

Insha, too, wore her burkha when she first started playing, but the patriarchal society in which lives did not take it well and often taunted her. An undeterred Insha now wears a hijab and confidently drives her Scooty to college with her bat.

“The journey has not been smooth. When I walked in my tracks with a cricket bat, people would complain to my father.

My family was supportive,” said Insha, a multi-talented sportsperson who has represented the Jammu and Kashmir women teams in not just cricket but also volleyball.

Her passion was noticed by her Urdu professor and was backed by college authorities who levelled a small ground for cricket practice.