Celebrating women’s cricket: ‘Men need to support us, not rule over us’

Karachi

While camerapersons gathered around Pakistani women’s team captain Sana Mir as she entered The Second Floor (T2f) with her teammates, a mother gently encouraged her small boy sitting on the mat to recite a poem he had penned for the cricketers for their commendable performance in the Women’s T20 World Cup.

Lauding the team by telling them that sky was the limit, the boy was told by Sana that his poem would indeed be kept close to the hearts of all team members.

To celebrate the women in green who were donned in grey for a light hearted meet and greet on Thursday, Natasha Ansari of Girls At Dhabas and popular singer Zeb Bangash opened the event with a footage shedding light on the struggles of women’s cricket.

The documentary was followed by an open session with the captain, coach, selector and players.

As the room filled up with people of all ages, the candid conversation kicked off when the team’s coach Mohtashim Rashid spoke of the girls’ relentless efforts. “Despite all odds, they were geared up to face-off with bigger teams.”

Syeda Nain Abidi who spoke next shared how she made up for lost runs, in the match against India, through her fielding, “I take my inspiration from the South African player Jonty Rhodes who would fall on or fly off the ground to catch the ball,” she said.  

Where Nain and Sana had a smooth sailing with respect to family support, the journey to the national team was certainly not smooth for Batool Fatima, the wicket-keeper.

“In my family, the notion of ‘Purdah’ is very strong. I not only had to seek permission of my immediate family but also from the elders of the family,” she shared.

It was inconvenient in the beginning, Batool said, however, things later settled down as her family supported her and started taking a keen interest in the sport.

The keeper who gave birth to her first child a few months ago spoke of her husband’s crucial support as he encouraged her to pursue cricket again.

However, Batool proved that batting was not the only talent she possessed after the audience was left mesmerised when she sang Nayyara Noor’s famous song ‘Kahan Ho Tum’.

Suspected of having an improper bowling action, Javeria Khan, also referred to as Jerry by teammates, narrated her journey of having had to turn to batting.

A turn she took with such devotion that she was sent as the opener for the team in during the tournament.

Selector Urooj Mumtaz, who had also served as the team’s captain, stressed on the need for women taking up administrative roles to strengthen the team.

However, it was her other profession that left the audience awestruck as she took a break to pursue a degree in dentistry.

Urooj said men be they cricketers or others, should encourage the team instead of discouraging them.

“Cricket remains to be cricket regardless of which gender plays the sport, men need to support us and not rule us,” the selector remarked.

After the experienced had spoken of their accomplishments and travails, the comparatively youngest of the lot, Muneeba Ali and Ayesha Zafar also shared their struggles.

Ayesha who was currently enrolled at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) was not just a cricketer but also played squash, however, she preferred cricket because of the team ethos. 

Muneeba who is the youngest in the squad got teary as she recalled times when her mother would call her up after a match.  Sana, who has led the team though the recent tournament said, that she wanted to step down for others to take the lead.

Referring to the jingoistic sentiments on both sides of the border, she said that she was deeply touched when a young Indian boy wished her luck after the national anthems of both the countries were sung.

“We lose our heads to victory or loss but we don’t need aggression, rather we need to have a sportsman’s spirit during such matches.”

But despite all, the captain did not shy away from mentioning the pay-gap. “We are paid 1/9th of the amount the men are paid to play the sport in Pakistan.”

“The process of change is painfully slow but there is progress nevertheless,” Sana, however, added. She also stressed on the team being provided with better facilities as well as international exposure.

Responding to a question over how the team deal with those shaming them for playing the sport, Sana smiled and said, “We simply block and delete them!”