Playing Against the Odds: Resilient Rugby GIrls

The theme of Khelo Rugby for October was Girl Power. We celebrated the International Day of the Girl with rugby tournaments across our locations - click here. Our Instagram account has also shared stories of how some of our girls have overcome the odds to play rugby. These are the stories of Khushbu, Roma, Meghana and Sadika who have battled their own challenges to play and keep on playing.

Khushbu, Jharkhand

"When my parents came to know that boys and girls play this game together, they asked me to stop playing. Boys and girls playing together was not considered good in the village I come from.

I'm from a small village in Jharkhand. There are six people in my family, my mother, my father and 4 brothers and sisters. I am 14 years old and currently studying in class 8. Our school is around 4 km from the village and we walk to school each day. School is still closed.

My father is a farmer and in my free time I help him in the fields. I also take some cows out for grazing.

I was introduced to rugby when some coaches from khelo rugby came to our village to teach us the game. I did not know what rugby is. Me and my friends had never seen an oval shaped ball and when I saw it for the first time, I did not know what to do with it.

In the beginning the boys and the girls did not want to play together as they had never done so before. My parents also asked me to stop playing if we had to mix with the boys as it is seen as something bad where we stay.

I started liking rugby slowly and did not want to stop because of the restrictions. I took help from our coaches to convince my parents that playing together is not a bad thing as it gives equal opportunities to everyone. Slowly we were able to convince most of the families and now my friends and I have full support from our parents.

My parents want me to study well and keep playing for my future. I have met girls from Saraswatipur and Kolkata who have got good recognition because of rugby and playing for India. I believe one day I can also achieve that level and get fame to my family and village creating more opportunities for us and the next generation.

I want to study and play rugby at the same time and make my family financially stable. Rugby has shown me a way to do it and I want to walk on that path without looking back."

Roma, Saraswatipur

"I started playing rugby when I was 8 years old. Starting this young helped me play well, as your foundation is built when you are small. Rugby has taught me respect, passion, team work, leadership and communication.

Saraswatipur is a small village in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, surrounded by the Baikunthapur Forest and Teesta River. I am 15 years old and I study in class 7. There are 5 members in my family. Our school is closed now so I do my rugby training and train the small children. I also work in the tea garden with my parents to help my family financially, this is the only option for most of the village.

When my father drinks he tells me to stop playing rugby. My mother and brothers stand by me and support me to carry on playing and their support motivates me to continue playing.

I have seen many senior girls from our village and other nearby villages changing their fate. They've had the opportunity to study in college, play for India and visit different countries all because of rugby.

The senior girls have set an example and shown us that our life can be way more than working in the tea gardens, getting married to a local village boy and spending the rest of our lives in the village. Now it is our turn to walk on this path and make our future bright opening ways for our juniors.

Because of rugby now I know that there is a bigger world outside the village waiting for me and I am working hard to get there. I want to be famous so that our village is more recognised and gets better facilities in terms of studies as well as sports.

It's funny that now my family does not let me play other sports wanting me to focus only on rugby training alongside my studies."

Meghana, Bangalore

"Our family is from Coorg but we've lived in Bangalore since I was small. I was introduced to rugby in school, every week 2 coaches would come and teach us the game. I started liking it slowly and did not want to miss the PT period as we all would go to the field and play rugby together.

My family has always supported me in sports but initially I was asked to stop playing as I used to come home late from practice. And few girls trained which made my parents more concerned. With the help of my coaches and friends I was able to convince my parents. Seeing me play more girls joined in the training. My parents saw this and were less worried and encouraged me to play.

Rugby has been very good for me, it has taught me a lot. We need to have commitment and work hard for our passion. It has also given me a platform to be a leader and learn new skills. I got an opportunity to play for the Karnataka senior women’s team in 2019 and that was one of the best rugby experiences of my life.

Alongside rugby I also got the chance to be a part of the education for employment project as a trainee with Decathlon. We get training from the store and work on our soft skills so we are better prepared for a job. I also get a stipend which I use for my education. I was one of the first three girls selected for the programme.

Growing up with rugby has been one of the greatest things of my life. Rugby has been a teacher and also given me so many opportunities. This journey is one of it’s kind and I want to keep playing as long as I can."

Sadika, Kolkata

"I love playing rugby. When I started taking rugby more seriously, my father and relatives started saying ‘it’s enough, you need not play now as muslim girls do not do all this, they don’t wear shorts and play around in the field with boys.’

I remember my father angrily saying that if I don’t stop playing, he would stop eating at the house and he actually did not eat at the house for 5 months.

I come from a small locality in Howrah, I am studying in class 9. There are 5 members in my family. My father is a school rickshaw puller and my mother supports us by doing some stitching work from home.

I started playing rugby 5 years back. Initially everything was going well and I did not face any problems but 4-5 months into the sport, my father and other relatives asked me to stop playing, they said being a muslim girl I shouldn’t be doing this. But by that time I had got so involved in rugby and the khelo rugby project that I couldn’t stop playing. My mother has been my support as she has stood by me fighting my father and relatives many times so that I can continue playing.

Rugby has brought many changes in my life as I have become more confident and independent. I have learnt that there is nothing wrong in fighting for something that you love doing. Khelo Rugby has also supported me with my school fees and tuition fees which has helped me convince my father to allow me to go for practice sessions and tournaments.

Even after facing these problems for the past 5 years I continue playing rugby as it motivates me to do better in life. My dream is to represent my country in rugby so that my father and relatives could be proud of me. I do not want to give up on this dream.

From my story I would like to give a message, let a girl fulfill her dreams, motivate her and support her, help her to follow her passion and she can do wonders."