Shabby treatment of U-16 football team
The success that the girls of the Bangladesh under-16 women's football team have earned through their performance in the AFC Women's U-16 Championship was marred by the reception that awaited them back home. The U-16 team, with their impressive wins against Iran and UAE, showed talent, especially considering the sports infrastructure.
After the tournament however, 9 girls of the squad were sent back to their village, alone on a local bus. Their journey home, which should have been one of triumph, involved harassment on the bus. To add to that, we hear of alleged assaults on their parents and threats to the girls with transfer certificates because they had refused to play in a local competition as they opted to join the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) training camp.
Firstly, it is utter negligence on part of the Bangladesh
Football Federation to send these girls alone considering safety concerns. Their response that the girls had chosen to go in the local bus is not convincing, when the responsibility was theirs to ensure that the girls reached home safely. On the other hand, it is heartening to see that the principal of the school has formed a three-member probe body to look into the incident of assault and threats. We only hope justice will be done.
These girls, who won the hearts of the country with their talent, deserve better. They are breaking barriers of the stereotyped notions of women in sports in the country. While we congratulate them, we insist that these girls are given their due: from the BFF and from their school.
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