GENDER equality will remain an unattainable goal without addressing the patriarchal prejudices that hinder women’s participation in public life. The recent attack on girl footballers in Khulna corroborates this point. On July 29, a group of people attacked at least four girls, all members of the under-17 Khulna divisional football team, for their ‘unwomanly conduct’ in wearing shorts and playing football at Batiaghata in Khulna. A severely injured victim is still undergoing treatment in the upazila health complex. A day after the attack, a case was filed against six people, but the police have so far arrested only one of them. Victim accounts say that the other accused have threatened them an acid assault if they do not withdraw the case. Some women’s rights organisations and eminent citizens condemned the attack and alleged that the police have not taken the attack seriously as they have failed to take prompt action against all the accused. The government should bring all perpetrators to justice and ensure the safety and security of all girl football players in the area.

While it is important to take an immediate legal action against the attackers and ensure security for the girls, what is equally important is addressing the socio-political forces that are ideologically opposing women’s equal participation in all public spheres, including sports. It is disappointing given that the coach and mentors of the girl footballers have talked about a long-standing local opposition to girls playing football. It is further disappointing because women players have been making their mark in national and international tournaments. The 2022 SAFF Women’s Championship is a glaring example of Bangladesh’s success. However, the government seems willing to celebrate women’s success but unwilling to support their everyday struggle. A policy-level gender inequality in resource allocation for women and men’s cricket and football teams speaks volumes of this. On an average, a class A female footballer earns a meagre Tk 10,000, a class B player earns Tk 8,000 and a class C player earns Tk 6,000 a month. A top male player in club football earns as much as Tk 50–80 lakh a season, compared with a woman player at the top of her game getting paid Tk 5–10 lakh. Such inequality must go if the government means business when it talks about gender equality in all aspects of state and society.

It is unacceptable that women in this day and age are physically assaulted for wearing sports attire and playing football. The government must, therefore, ensure an expeditious investigation and timely trial of the attack and send out a signal that women’s freedom of movement and participation in public life will not be compromised under any circumstances. It must also address the patriarchal bias in sports-related policies and allocate enough resources for women to thrive in the sports world.