Zubair Qureshi
Some thirty-eight football players from Chitral, all teenage girls have termed their stay in Islamabad during a weeklong football camp quite fruitful as they chanced to learn many things besides football about life, public dealing and women empowerment.
It was quite useful and morale-boosting experience as we had a chance to meet and play with local players and visit the federal capital’s tourism spots and scenic places, said they while talking to Pakistan Observer.
They were in the town to participate in one-week sports exchange programme and a majority of them had stepped outside their hometown for the first time in life.
It is the pure passion for the sports and their desire to discover the world beyond the valley that brought them to the federal capital.
For these ‘crazy’ football players from Chitral, it seemed easier to play in Islamabad than in Chitral since for the local population in Chitral, it is not easy to come to terms to the idea that their women could play an outdoor game that too in a playground.
For most of them it was one in a lifetime experience. “Inside the Sports Complex, we feel pretty much comfortable and confident as there are no social pressures or fear of being seen or criticized by the members of society,” said they.
While talking to Pakistan Observer, Samra Aziz, Zakira Fida, and Sawera Kiran, three team members of the Chitrali sports club, they had a good time interacting with players and students of local teams/schools.
“It was a memorable time of our life and we not only learnt from but also told our newly-found friends of Islamabad about the Chitrali customs and cuisine, our ways of living and particularly challenges for women in our society,” said they.
“We have visited Faisal Masjid and a number of touristic points and enjoyed ourselves a great deal the beauty of the federal capital,” said Samra.
Karishma Ali, the coach and the organizer of the football camp said the sports exchange programme was first initiated in 2018. Initially, it was not easy in the beginning as we had to convince the people of Chitral to send their daughters to Islamabad, she said.
It is quite reassuring to see these erstwhile shy girls charge in the ground, battling for the football and struggling for goal. This indirectly teaches them a lesson of how to gain confidence and develop a fighting spirit in life, she said.
“They hail from all areas of Chitral and 90 per cent of these 38 girls have come to Islamabad for the first time,” said Karishma. On the Chitral Women Sports Club’s official twitter account too, it is written “Nothing is more empowering than watching a woman take charge of her destiny.”
Islamabad’s Serena Hotel also hosted a warm welcome party in honour of the Chitrali players and their coach. CEO of the hotel Aziz Boolani said it was hnour and sheer joy to see young energetic girls from the far-flung areas of Chitral coming to Islamabad and participating in the sports camp.
Supporting the empowerment of women in Pakistan should be a joint effort of the public-private sector as through women’s equal participation in society Pakistan can make great progress, he said.
