Women’s football matches cancelled amid protests


A women’s football match was cancelled in the nation after protests by Islamist hardliners forced organisers to call off the fixture, the second such incident in as many days.

Analysts say that previously fringe religious movements have grown bold in the South Asian nation following the ouster of autocratic premier Sheikh Hasina last year.

The northern city of Joypurhat was due on Wednesday to host a friendly football match between its district women’s team and another from nearby Rangpur.

“The Islamists in our area gathered in a field and marched toward the venue. There were hundreds of them,” said tournament organiser Samiul Hasan Emon.

“The situation worsened, and we had to cancel today’s event.”

Abu Bakkar Siddique, the headmaster of a local Islamic school, said he had joined the demonstration alongside his students, as well as teachers and pupils from several other madrassas.

“Girls’ football is un-Islamic,” he said.

A VERY LOW BLOW

“It is our religious duty to stop anything that goes against our beliefs.”

The incident came the day after another match was postponed in the nearby city Dinajpur following a similar demonstration by Islamists who were wielding sticks.

“The match was suspended half an hour before it was supposed to kick off.

“We had to quickly move the girls to a safer place,” said teacher Moniruzzaman Zia.

Local government officer Amit Roy said four people were hurt in clashes after protesters and counter-demonstrators lobbed bricks at each other, but all had since been discharged from hospital.

Wednesday’s incident was swiftly condemned by the Bangladesh Football Federation.

“Football is for everyone, and women have full rights to participate in it,” BFF media manager Sadman Sakib said in a statement.

Bangladeshi Islamist groups have grown noticeably more prominent after years of suppression by Hasina’s government in the Muslim-majority country. — AFP

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