Meeting Rajit: On Women's Empowerment through Sport

Sat Shirt Akhal!

My name is Rajiit. I am 16 years old, live in Rurka Kalan, a small village in Punjab and I was the first girl from my club to be selected for a national football camp in Kolkata! Although I always loved to play football, I had never dreamt of actually representing India one day in a national camp. Let me tell you a little bit more about my journey with the Goals for Girls programme which I am part of and, how I came to score my first goal in Kolkata.

I was born into a rather poor family in Rurka Kalan. My father usually works as a day labourer at a farm close to our home and my mum is a mere housewife who financially contributes to the family income as a house maid. Even though we never had a lot of money, my parents have always tried to enable my sister, my two brothers and me a normal life. They always encouraged us to pursue our dreams - no matter what others may think.

The first time I got to know football was in second grade. I remember the day very well when I joined the Sports-for-Development Programme for Girls of an NGO called YFC Rurka Kalan which is part of the Goals for Girls Programme financed by sponsors such as the FIFA. Until then, I had barely heard of football but, it was love at first sight! As it was such an amazing experience to play alongside with team mates and, as I really enjoyed doing sports boys do as well, I finally persuaded my parents to also allow me to join the regular girls' sessions at the NGO's sports ground in the village. Since then, I have not regretted this decision for one second. But, even though my parents always supported girls playing football, many especially narrow-minded people from the village disapproved with this "revolutionary" idea. I still recall the chorus of critical comments from my neighbours and, the despising looks from many elderly community members when they first saw me wearing sports shorts. Many boys were trying to bring me down, too. Back then, playing football was considered ribald or inappropriate for a typical "good girl". Although there is still a lot which needs to improve today, it is a lot better today.

Luckily, while I was playing at YFC, I met so many inspiring personalities including my coaches Monika or Johnny, wonderful people who always believed in me as well as my talents and found many new likeminded friends who are still my team mates. In the end, the more I played, the more self-confident I got; the more successful my team became and the less we cared about other´s opinion! As time went by and as we started to win many matches, the initial rejection of so many conservative neighbors and community members slowly changed, too and turned into admiration. In 2018, when I was selected for the national girls´ camp in Kolkata and scored my first goal for India on a national level, many of the formerly disapproving people supported me! Looking back at the last 9 years, I can say that playing football and becoming a part of the Goals for Girls Community has definitely changed my life. However, it is not just about the amazing people I met and the opportunities I got. The thing is that now, I do not intend on becoming a “good” girl anymore, but rather consider following my dream: becoming a professional football player one day and then helping my community in return!

Dhanwad and always believe in your dreams,

Rajit

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This post was originally part of an impact story documenting the lives of participants of a women's empowerment initiative by YFC Rurka Kalan. For more info, see here.