Four years after being shot by the Taliban, Malala Yousafazi’s story about her fight for education still echoes in the lives of many young Pakistani girls as they continue their struggle to find space within the cultural sphere of their society. As per Thomson Reuters Foundation’s report, Pakistan is the 3rd most dangerous country to live as a woman. With 80 per cent of the female population facing domestic abuse and more than 1,000 becoming victims of honour killings each year, the country seems to be progressing into the patriarchy we all fear, even while living as 21st century citizens.
Although in Karachi, there is an old and abandoned construction building with one floor, home to just a few naked light bulbs, no fans and no bathrooms where about 13 young girls between the age of 8 to 18 are punching at the conventions of this very patriarchy by learning how to box. Situated in heart of Lyari, the rough area is infamous for its gang violence and unsafe atmosphere but this has not stopped these girls from missing even one session.
The story of these girls goes back to when a resident of this neighborhood and 2013 Sindh boxing champion, Nadir Kachi was approached by a 16-year-old girl named Khadijah who wanted to be trained to be a boxer. In the past, attempts to bring female players into sports like boxing, hockey, cricket, tennis and football had been met with futile resistance. Despite of that, Kachi took the girl to his coach, Younis Qambrani who had been teaching his two daughters the sport since the time they could wear boxing gloves. What started as just small post-dinner training sessions, later became an underground association as few other young girls had the same aspirations as Khadijah.
Today, as part of Karachi’s Pak Shaheen Boxing Club, these girls diligently go a camp after their school hours hoping that one day they will be able to get a medal home. Although getting this initiative started in the midst of Pakistan’s capital was not as easy as it seems. SBA’s secretary explains that due to the resistance sportswomen have faced in the past, they were afraid these young girls would face similar kind of criticism.
Brother of Qambrani, Mohammad Hussain, explains that in order to safeguard the girls they hoped to establish a balance that would keep the society and girls happy. These girls are now only allowed to come for practices provided that they go to school everyday. Hussain adds, “People get brainwashed and get stuck on details such as a male coach teaching a group of girls or what the girls are wearing while they are training. We wanted to make sure we account for this culture and don’t give such people something to complain about.”
With a willpower that seems inextinguishable, these young girls have resisted the lessons of confinement that most children are fed into during the tender age of youth. This is not only a success for Pakistan but a hope for all genders across the world to be able do and achieve lives that they design for themselves rather than the harsh touchstones of history. When a New York Times journalist asked the girls what they would do if their future husbands did not allow them to become a boxer, 16 year old, Azmenna answered with a rhetoric, “How can someone have the guts to tell us we cannot do something when our own fathers have given us permission to do so?”
Feature Image: Takepart.com