Creeping Talibanisation following the five-year
rule of an orthodox government have barred nearly
all doors on women’s sports in the Frontier
province. Girls who have talent and inclination
towards games and whose parents also have no
objection are frustrated as segregation is almost
total and there are no exclusive facilities for
women to pursue any outdoor activity.

Faiza, a talented athlete, came to Qayyum Stadium
for practice after her teachers convinced her
parents to allow her to participate in sports.
However the sight of some male players and a few
spectators offended her parents who had come to
drop her there. They left the stadium in anger
along with their daughter.

This is not just one example when a female player
has been discouraged to play in a mixed
environment. In the conservative culture of
North-West Frontier Province where it is becoming
even harder in some districts for girls to go out
for education, it takes a lot of courage and
parents’ support for a girl to go out and
participate in sports.

"We have a hard time convincing parents to allow
their daughters to play but conservative parents
don’t like their daughters to play in a stadium
or in an open environment," says sports coach
Najma Naz.

The MMA-led government had encouraged
segregation, by setting up a separate women’s
sports directorate in 2004 to motivate girls to
take part in sports in an exclusive environment.
But nothing materialised as Talibanisation grew
by the day putting the security of sports girls
at risk. A team of girls coming from Kohat for a
sports event in Peshawar were stopped by
militants at a checkpoint at Darra Adamkhel and
asked the purpose of their travel. "We told them
we were going to attend a wedding in Peshawar,“recounted one of the team from Kohat.”We have to keep a low profile for the sake of
security of our sportswomen," said a sports
department official who demanded separate sports
facilities in one complex if we wanted the
development of sports among women.

Under the present arrangement there is a fixed
hour for girls to practice in the stadium, which
is just not enough, says coach Najma Naz.

The women’s sports directorate is not in a
position to hold any national or inter-provincial
sports event as it does not have any stadium,
play-ground or courts for girls. During the
inter-regional tournament, the directorate had
to request the University of Peshawar for its
grounds for the athletics, volleyball and cricket
matches. The players were also accommodated in
the university’s hostel. "For the cricket
tournament we had to request the Lady Griffith
Girls School for its playground. It was small and
not suitable for a match but we had no option,"
admitted a sports directorate official.

An ADP (2007-2008) scheme costing Rs100 million
proposed setting up of a Women Sports Complex at
Peshawar where girls could practice in a
women-friendly environment. Only Rs5 million were
approved for the scheme but it could not
materialise as no state land was available for
the complex. However the scheme has since been
revised to include the cost of land and awaits
approval.

Meanwhile the project to set up a women’s sports
complex is being held up for unknown reasons. The
provincial sports, culture, archaeology and
tourism department despite having stadiums and
two sports complexes is unconcerned. The
Hayatabad Sports Complex has been lying unused
for the last one decade. It could be allowed to
be used as an exclusive playground for women. But
this possibility too is not being considered.