This is a story of grit, sweat, occasional tears and ultimately great joy and its protagonists are mothers. Mothers who are changing social norms in rural Jharkhand, one football game at a time. On March 1, 2020, these amateurs who spend their days working in the fields and doing endless household chores, played their first professional match against Ranchi Girls at an event organised by Oxfam India and took everyone by surprise by putting up a strong fight.
It all started when Shalini Samvedna, secretary of NGO LokSwar began to interact with women and hear their stories. She says, "We realised that these women are mothers who do gruelling fieldwork from morning till evening and also fetch water, cook food, do numerous chores but have no time for themselves. We formed a small group and encouraged them to do whatever they wanted, be it playing kabaddi, kho kho or football and somehow a team was born!"
Oxfam India' CEO Amitabh Behar adds, "The ‘Mothers' Football Team' was an impossible dream that has come to life against all odds. The team was formed in 2019 and since then these incredible women have gone on to participate in many football matches and they continue to practice at least twice a month. They are living examples of how much potential remains untapped in women who are bound to gendered roles and cannot break free from them."
As 27-year-old Priyanka Devi says, "I washed dishes at home, fetched water, cooked for my family but did nothing just for myself. When I started playing, it gave me such a sense of freedom."
Initially, the women who were a part of the team ran into many difficulties. Battling perceptions of society, paucity of time and energy, they would get up at 4 am to commit to a practice that included running and playing football for half an hour each. 28-year-old Heera Devi says, "At 5 am, we would start our household work and made sure to not neglect our families." Still, the resentment against them was such that one morning when the women arrived at the ground, they found it strewn with glass shards and the goal post broken.
Recalls Shalini, "For a while, everyone was in shock. It was hard to believe that women who routinely endure so much hardship were not being allowed to experience just a little joy. But the women foraged for wood and other implements and set up the goalpost again and have never looked back since."
Heera Devi adds, "With the help of a bullock cart and plough, we removed all the glass pieces and kept playing with the determination that whether we win or lose, fall down or get hurt, we will never leave this ground. When we started wearing shorts and T-shirts, there was disapproval but for the first time, we felt like real soccer players! Just because we are married and have children, does not mean that we should suppress our desires. Later, the men and boys who watched us play were stupefied by our level of skill!"
These stories demonstrate that with a little bit of encouragement and guidance, lives can be changed and outmoded norms can be tweaked. Shalini concludes, "Women should not let their dreams die. My message to every mother is to keep their inner fire alive and to stand up to prejudices and constraints that don't let them move forward. Just break a little barrier today and see how much joy it brings you."