DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Ready to face and fight social prejudice, Jamaima Afridi sets her sights on becoming the first female cricketer from Tribal Areas to enter international bowling.
The 18-year-old’s passion for sports developed quite early and was nurtured by her parents despite staunch rejection from relatives and other community members who disapproved of allowing women to engage in what they consider a men’s world.
“I have been under immense pressure and criticism from my relatives and other people in my town. They say I am a girl and I should not play the game played by boys,” Afridi told Arab News on Sunday.
Supported by her closest family, she started to train in her early teens. “I used to play wushu kung fu and cricket with other children on the streets of my hometown in Landikotal, a dusty hamlet and a rugged passage leading to the Pakistani-Afghan Torkhma border.” A few years later she has already taken part in various sports competitions, representing her school and winning a bronze medal in wushu at the fourth provincial games in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Jamaima Afridi speaks at a conference in Peshawar on Oct. 23, 2018. She knows she is paving the way for other young women to outshine men in many sports disciplines. (Photo courtesy of Jamaima Afridi)
Although difficult to bear, social disapproval has, on the other hand, fueled Afridi’s desire to challenge the status quo. She knows she is lucky to have the support of her parents and siblings, especially brothers who are ready to stand up for her. Without their backing, she said, she would have been confined to the four walls of her home, like other tribal girls.
By chasing her dreams, Afridi knows she is also paving the way for other young women hedged in patriarchal norms to realize their potential and “outshine men in many fields.”
“I hope my initiative will help encourage other girls from tribal areas to demonstrate their talent,” said the young athlete and who is studying law at Benazir Bhutto Women University in Peshawar.
The need to empower female athletes from the province’s long-neglected tribal areas is also recognized by KP’s director-general for sports, Asfandyar Khattak, who told Arab News that the provincial government will specifically focus on promoting their talent.
“Women from tribal districts have huge potential to excel in all games. We will start construction both on the main and small sports complexes in all seven tribal districts,” he said, assuring that the Rs 11.3 million works will commence immediately.
The promise to construct sports facilities in the districts was made by the provincial government in 2018 when the Federally Administered Tribal Areas were merged with KP, but construction works have yet to begin.
According to Irfan Mehsud, a Guinness World Record holder in wushu kung fu, who also comes from Tribal Areas, the absence of proper infrastructure and training opportunities in the region result in much talent being wasted.
