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It's not cricket, Pak board tells women

In cricket-crazy Pakistan, the women's team was refused permission to play in public by authorities who fear the disapproval of the religious right.

Angry women cricketers said the Pakistan Cricket Board turned down a request by the Women's Cricket Control Association for permission to hold a series of matches, starting this week, between India and Pakistan in its stadiums in Lahore and Karachi, saying it was ''against women playing any game in public.''

When their many representations were ignored, the venue of the three one-day matches scheduled as part of the 50th Independence anniversary celebrations now underway in both countries, was shifted to private cricket grounds in the two cities.

Protesting in an open letter to Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharief, the women's cricket association said, ''It is a matter of regret that government functionaries make statements about promotion and participation of women in all fields of activity, but experience proves otherwise.''

Women's rights activists think the authorities are scared to displease the religious right, who would like to put all Pakistani women in purdah.

Discrimination against women is deep rooted in Pakistani society. In most of the all-girls schools and colleges in the country, students are taught embroidery and there is no facility for sports. As a result, though it is a country of 140 million people, contingents to international meets are predominantly male, while Pakistani women are yet to make much of a mark in sports.

''Pakistan has a women's team it could be proud of, but there is no support,'' declares Anita Ghulamali of the WCA.

Instead, facilities are different for male and female players. While officials and sponsors fall over each other to support and endorse the men's national team, the women's team has been raising its own funds and playing on private grounds.

The team was told by an unidentified official that he did ''not want them to participate in public sport,'' Ghulamali, a former education minister in Sind, told participants at a Karachi seminar on women's cricket recently. Women's affairs minister Syeda Abida Hussain had promised to give two million dollars to the women's team, but there has been no news since, Ghulamali added.

Earlier in the year, the women's team toured New Zealand and Australia on its own initiative and money. Cricketer Mehreen Haleem said they were promised money by the then caretaker government, but it ''backed out at the last minute.''

''After the caretakers backed out and nothing was given, we all had to pool together the 50,000 dollars required for the trip to those two countries," Mehreen said.

Moreover, the team was refused permission to practice in the cricket stadium in Karachi before it left for the tour. ''We put up in a park outside the stadium and practiced,'' the Pak star added.

Pakistan's team is no push over, says Ghulamali, who points out that a team member was selected to the prestigious International Women's Cricket Council, whose members include India, South Africa, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, West Indies, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan.

Asked why the Pakistan Cricket Board discriminates against women, former Test cricketer and PCB chief executive Majid Khan said the women's team is not the PCB's concern. ''We also have a heavy season ahead, with a lot of matches to be played. We have to take into consideration the upkeep and maintenance of the stadia,'' Khan said.

The bias against women in Pakistan is sanctioned by the State. It surfaced during the martial law regime of General Zia-ul Haq, who placated Islamic fundamentalists to stay in power. Anti-women laws were enacted, which the government said conformed to the Islamic Shariah laws. But that has been contested by critics.

In sports, the military government prescribed a dress code for women following an outcry that women should not be allowed to, wear shorts. Pakistan's women's hockey team was the first to be forced to change to baggy trousers.

''This is a major handicap as trousers become soggy and heavy, while the rival team remains swift and cool in their shorts,'' says Sind Hockey Association secretary general D N Shah.

The government also restricted their participation in international events. According to Shahida, the team has been abroad only once, for an exhibition match in China.

''Let alone India, even Muslim countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh encourage their women to participate in international events,'' she pointed out.

Aiming to counter its critics, the government announced that it would host an Islamic women's games, organised for the first time three years ago in Teheran by the Iranian government. But that plan was shelved without explanation.

UNI