Assaulted for playing football

A a time when the Fifa Women's World Cup 2023 is receiving more attention than it ever has, with major brands tapping into the heightened audience engagement and data suggesting two billion people across the world will have watched the live matches by the end of it, one might argue that we are living in a golden era of women's football.

The success of the Bangladesh team in the 2022 SAFF Women's Championship show that our women have not failed to keep up with the rising tide either. Even a few years ago, it would have been unimaginable to think that the city would come to a standstill because of crowds flocking to the streets to show their support for female footballers who have represented the country.

However, recent events seem to suggest these changes are skin deep. On July 29, at least four female members of the under-17 Khulna divisional football team were attacked by a group of people for playing football at Tentultala village of Khulna's Batiaghata upazila. Of them, one was severely injured and is still receiving treatment at hospital.

It is extremely worrying that, even in this day and age, women can be subjected to physical assault for something as simple as wearing sports attire and playing. Equally worrying is the fact that even after such an assault, the girls are still vulnerable and living in fear: one of the victims reported that the attackers are now threatening them with acid attacks and false cases unless the case against them is withdrawn.

We demand that the perpetrators of this attack are immediately brought to justice. The authorities must demonstrate their ability to protect women, in public and private spaces, from violence and abuse.

This one incident is a microcosm of the violence that women and girls face in Bangladesh everyday for the simplest of actions. While on one hand we boast about women's role in the country's development, on the other, gender-based violence continues unabated. Too often, these cases are ignored: by communities, law enforcement agencies, and the justice system. What sort of message does that send to perpetrators? What does it say about the rights and status of women in our society?

We demand that the perpetrators of this attack are immediately brought to justice. The authorities must demonstrate their ability to protect women, in public and private spaces, from violence and abuse. We cannot claim to be a progressive and developing country if our women are not able to exercise even their most basic freedoms.