Kusum Kumari had no great agenda in mind when she started playing football aged nine near her home in rural Jharkhand in India. She just wanted to have fun. Now 15, she is pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved by girls in a state notorious for human trafficking and child marriage.
“People believe girls should fetch water from the well, wash dishes, wash clothes in the pond, work in the field, cut grass for the cows, collect firewood and cook food,” she said at the Girl Power in Play symposium, on the sidelines of the Women’s World Cup, in Ottawa this month. “My team-mates and I know that when we stay together, then our dreams will happen in real life. We see in our family and village that when girls finish the 10th grade, they get married. We don’t want to get married until we can stand on our own feet.”
With the support of Yuwa, an NGO that uses girls’ team sports as a platform for social development, Kumari and her team-mates have challenged the widely held idea that girls belong at home. They have gained recognition in their community and on football pitches abroad.
In 2013, the team finished third in an under-14 tournament in Spain, and last year they travelled to the US to take part in the Schwan’s USA Cup. Full story...
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“People believe girls should fetch water from the well, wash dishes, wash clothes in the pond, work in the field, cut grass for the cows, collect firewood and cook food,” she said at the Girl Power in Play symposium, on the sidelines of the Women’s World Cup, in Ottawa this month. “My team-mates and I know that when we stay together, then our dreams will happen in real life. We see in our family and village that when girls finish the 10th grade, they get married. We don’t want to get married until we can stand on our own feet.”
With the support of Yuwa, an NGO that uses girls’ team sports as a platform for social development, Kumari and her team-mates have challenged the widely held idea that girls belong at home. They have gained recognition in their community and on football pitches abroad.
In 2013, the team finished third in an under-14 tournament in Spain, and last year they travelled to the US to take part in the Schwan’s USA Cup. Full story...
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