Football of women – Bangladesh: Fortunately, fear became afraid

Three months ago, Ankita Anwar was a celebrated heroine in her country. At the end of October, she won the South Asia Championship in Nepal with the women’s national soccer team – for the second time in a row. In the 175 million country Bangladesh, which was otherwise not spoiled with international trophies, this was a sensation. When he returned home, the defender drove Anwar through the capital Dhaka via Autokorso.

“We took photos with the trophy and the medals and celebrated all night,” recalls the 24-year-old. »At the airport in Dhaka, officials awaited us to greet us with flowers. Journalists ran after us. ”But now the feelings of happiness have been frightened. Because women who play football cannot always be sure of their physical integrity. Ankita Anwar only gave an interview on the condition that her real name is not mentioned.

Fear is no coincidence. At the end of January, several media in the country and the region reported violent raids on friendship games from women’s teams. The first incident was reported from the northwestern city of Dinajpur, the second in Jypurhat, which is not far away. Both times, hundreds of people, partly armed with sticks, are said to have stormed onto the field and destroyed the facility. The events were canceled.

Nd.Diewoche – Our weekly newsletter

With our weekly newsletter . We’re Doing Look at the most important topics of the week and read them Highlights our Saturday edition on Friday. Get the free subscription here.

“It’s about politics,” says journalist Julfikar Ali Manik, who has been reporting terrorism and Islamism in the country for decades. “The situation of law and order has decreased sharply, but a kind of planned mob authority is increasing,” said Manik. “We have been taking note of the Islamists here for a very long time that girls or women play some sport like football or cricket. Your policy is that women should stay at home. “

Bangladesh experiences turbulent times. In August, student protests ensured that the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who ruled dictatorially, fled from the country. The military then commissioned Nobel Peace Prize winners Muhammad Yunus to lead a transitional government. The country is hardly ready for new elections.

In the actually rather moderate-Muslim Bangladesh, Islamist forces are now on the rise. Leo Wigger, Fellow for EU and South Asia relationships in the Mercator College for international tasks, emphasizes that it was wrong to believe that everything was better before the overthrow. The ex-premier sheikh Hasina and her Awami League were secular-but brutal. At the uprisings in August, security forces killed 1400 protesters.

“It is true that sheikh Hasina has campaigned for the emancipation of women or protected minority rights in a certain way, even if the myth is much stronger than reality,” said Wigger. “To be honest, the situation of minorities and women was not always so great even under the aegis of the Awami League. And even there, the state has repeatedly occurred from surprising oppression. “

Sports for women and girls have only been able to assert themselves socially in recent years – against resistance, remembers Ankita Ankita: “When I started playing football in 2009, I didn’t even know that there was football for women in Bangladesh.” In the local club, she played with the boys, was the outsider how it was still playing football in Germany.

“But when our national team won the South Asian championship for the first time in 2022, many people in the country were suddenly enthusiastic,” said the footballer. Since then, the national players have been professionals, can concentrate fully on football. »Football is now very popular. But since we are a religious country, there are unfortunately also problems for women, even if they wear shorts. “

The journalist Julfikar Ali Manik is certain that most in the country are proud today that players from Bangladesh get trophies for the country: »90 percent of the population are Muslim. But the vast majority is not extremist. ”Extremism affects a very small group of people. “They want to win the dominance in the country. You want to control everything. And they take the Taliban as a model. “

Not all of them can be intimidated. Shortly after the attack on football games, women in the country quickly rose from women in the country. And local TV channels reported that the tickets were quickly sold out. The popularity of footballers is still greater than the fear of repression.