Event, July 25: Women and Sport – Challenges and Wins

Sapan invites you for the fourth in a series of curated monthly events themed ‘Imagine! Neighbours in Peace’, a title borrowed from an unpublished volume by Chowk.com, 2005.

WOMEN IN SPORT – CHALLENGES AND WINS

WHEN: Sunday, July 25, 2021 – 7:30 pm PKT; 8.00 pm IST; 8:30 pm BPT; 10:30 am EDT

For this event, we are excited to partner with South Asian Women in the Media (SAWM), a network of women journalists across the region.

HOW: Broadcast via Facebook Live at Sapan’s FB page. 

We’re excited for our lineup which includes a special appearance by Samina Ahmed, renowned actor from Pakistan presenting a skit by the satirist Shoaib Hashmi.

WHO: The panel anchored by sports journalist Natasha Raheel Khan in Karachi and activist Payoshni Mitra, former badminton player from India currently in London, includes: Ashreen Midha, national basketball player, Bangladesh; Ayesha Mansukhani, athlete and sports investor, India; Caryll Tozer, activist and former netball player, Sri Lanka; Champa Chakma, cricketer, Bangladesh; Gulshan Naaz, award winning para-athlete, India; Hajra Khan, captain of the Pakistan Women’s National Football Team; Khalida Popal, former captain of Afghanistan Women’s National Football Team; Mabia Akhter Shimanto, award winning weight-lifting champion, Bangladesh; Nisha Millet, award winning swimming champion, India; Noorena Shams, squash player and activist, Pakistan; Roopa Nagraj, cricketer, coach, former India A team player, India/UAE; Rumana Ahmed, captain of Bangladesh Women’s National Cricket Team; Preety Baral, national tennis player, Nepal; Sana Mir, former captain, Pakistan Women’s Cricket Team.

Well known journalist Najam Sethi will share concluding remarks

UPDATE, 26 JULY 2021:

Until a few weeks ago, not many Indians had even heard Saikhom Mirabai Chanu from the state of Manipur, far away from the national capital Delhi. Similar has been the case with Lovlina Borgohain from Assam, Kamalpreet Kaur from Punjab, Savita Punia from Haryana, Gurjeet Kaur from Punjab, and Salima Tete and Nikki Pradhan from Jharkhand. These are also women representing India at the Tokyo Olympics.

We have, of course, become familiar with PV Sindhu of late after her stellar performance at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Over the past few weeks the country has watched with amazement these women ruling over their sporting arenas — lifting heavyweights, wrestling, throwing the disc, fencing, controlling the ball as a team in the hockey field and more — with agility, sharpness, spirit and determination. They are now famous!

The number of challenges each of these women has had to face to reach these heights is unimaginable. All these women playing at the Olympics and making their mark are indeed not just the daughters of India but are the pride of women across South Asia. Our neighbouring countries are also proud of the achievements of these women from our region. The stories of struggle that women in sports have to go through to become such sporting greats is common across South Asia.

To share such experiences, South Asia Peace Action Network (Sapan) organised an online meeting bringing together over a dozen sportswomen from across South Asia. They discussed the successes and challenges they face. The stories they shared touched us all deeply. They also showed great solidarity and encouraged each other.

A number of ideas for cooperation in the future came up in the meeting including putting together a book on these players and forming an association of South Asian women athletes.

READ THE COMPLETE PRESS STATEMENT HERE.

MEDIA COVERAGE:

Dhaka Tribune	Speakers: Promoting women in sports key to fight discrimination
Times of India	Women must prove themselves in order to get funds, says former Pakistan captain Sana Mir | More sports News  South Asian ‘playing sisters’ to team up for book project | Amritsar News
Geo News (English)	South Asian women in sport: stories of grit and determination
Nepali Times	Struggles, successes of South Asian women athletes
Journeys to Democracy	Inspiring stories from sportswomen, and behind the scenes with Sapan
Money Control	Women athletes from South Asia come together to share challenges and wins
eShe	Winning Despite the Odds: South Asian Women Athletes Show the Way
South Asia Monitor	South Asia’s women athletes displayed grit and determination to overcome discrimination, bullying and neglect
Kashmir Times	Our pain is same, What we need is unity: South Asian women athletes speak
The Tribune	A Challenge Greater than the Olympics

MORE ABOUT SAPAN: The South Asia Peace Action Network, formed on March 28, is a coalition of individuals and organisations joining hands to take forward the principles and ideals of peace, justice, democracy and human rights that mentors and leaders like I.A Rehman, Asma Jahangir, Dr Mubashir Hasan, Nikhil Chakravartty, Nirmala Deshpande, Kuldip Nayar, Rajni Kothari and others envisioned and worked for.

We believe that the way forward lies in greater socio-economic cooperation, resource-sharing between nation states and regions, and a visa-free South Asia or a confederation of nations. We are still grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, causing an unprecedented loss of lives and livelihoods. Nobody is safe unless everybody is safe. This moment impresses upon us the need for collective action and regionalism, as outlined in our 30 May Resolution (open for endorsements). Our grief is collective, and so is our struggle for justice and peace, through peaceful, collective, consistent action.

Follow SAPAN on social media: @southasiapeace on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube