Bisma Amjad, an under-19 player for Pakistan, says she dressed like a man to play cricket when the pandemic was raging. Now, her parents have left her with an ultimatum.
“Gender discrimination is more rampant in Asia, a woman has to work twice as hard as a man”, said Javeria Khan, captain of the Pakistan cricket team, to The Guardian.
ICC decided to organize the Women’s under-19 World Cup for the first time in 2021 but considered postponing it due to the pandemic. Firstly, it shifted from January 2021 to December 2021. Later they decided to cancel it and play the inaugural tournament in Bangladesh in 2023.
Bisma Amjad was one of the players who were selected in the squad for the tournament. The pandemic put a spanner in the works for her. In Pakistan, the government implemented lockdowns to prevent the virus from spreading. That resulted in no cricket sessions for her. But only for her. Guys in the colony were free to play.
“Boys used to play gully-cricket even during the pandemic”, she says to The Guardian. “But the movement for the girls was restricted, so we could not play at all. I had no option but to dress like a man and practise with them.”
A lot of players do dress out
Moreover, she says the situation is not unfamiliar, especially in rural areas. One of her friends has chopped her hair off so no one recognizes her. “Women who play sport have to struggle a lot in our society. I hear constant comments such as ‘your skin will turn darker’ or ‘it is a boy’s game, and you are wasting your time. Do a course that will help you after marriage’”, she says.
Although she faces disruption from society, her father is very supportive and encourages her to play cricket. He used to drop her to her training sessions before he became sick. During that period, she learned how to ride a bike so she could commute on her own. Cycling brought its own problems such as people passing comments on her for riding the bicycle.
One year left in her career
Since the under-19 World Cup was cancelled, Bisma Amjad has continued to play first-class cricket in the hope to get selected for the national team. “I keep telling my parents, give me a few months, I will prove it”, she says. “I also give my savings to them to show that I earn some money.”
In the post-era of cancelled World Cup, her parents have given her two options: either she gets selected for the national team or else she must drop cricket. They have given her one year to accomplish the goal.
Javeria Khan, captain of the national team, mentions there are a lot of challenges for women in Pakistan who want to pursue a career in cricket. “Here, a woman has to work twice as hard as a man to prove her talent. Gender discrimination exists all over the world, but in Asia, the issue is more rampant.”
Photograph: Personal/ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020
