Sports fighting a battle to end gender based violence in Nepal

 In a country where sports still fall in the least priority of the government and choosing sports as a career still raises eyebrows in the society, gender activists think they can bring in positive changes in the society through the medium of sports.

Using sports as a tool to campaign against gender-based violence is gathering pace as the 16-day campaign is in full swing around the globe since Nov. 25.

Saathi, a non-governmental organization, has been advocating for the cause by using male footballer and cricketers to disseminate the message of gender equality to the public.

Saathi's president Bandana Rana, who has been in the field for more than 20 years, said that sportsmen are idolized by the youth and their message was more likely to be followed by them than by just the organization doing it through rallies and seminars.

Rana gets her inspirations to use male footballers from the world football governing body FIFA that has the motto of fair play. "Just like footballers promote fair play in the field, it should be applied by them in their homes and families as well," shared Rana.

According to statistics, one-third of women in Nepal experience gender based violence at home, although most violence is unreported and unrecorded in informal or formal institutions.

The main reasons for perpetuating violence against women are the low educational status of women, bringing less dowry at the time of marriage, no control over resources by women and low educational status of the perpetuators.

For the cause, Saathi has tied up with the national associations of the two most popular sports in the country, football and cricket.

"We were motivated to tie up with the Cricket Association of Nepal after our collaborative project with All Nepal Football Association was successful," she said.

The agreement with the football association has been in existence since the last two years, with the Asian Football Confederation also supporting the cause by donating funds.

Saathi's way of advocating is simple: in all the football matches played under the authorization of the All Nepal Football Association, a banner that reads, Our Goal: Stop Violence against Women is displayed ahead of all the matches.

"The organization's attempt has been bearing fruits," said Kishor Thapa, a football match ticket seller. "We have noticed more girls coming in the stadium to watch matches since the organization started this campaign."

Shristhi Shrestha, a female football fan, told Xinhua that she has always been fascinated about going to the stadium to watch Nepal's international matches, but her parents never allowed her, fearing verbal abuses targeted towards girls by male fans in the stadium.

One day Shrestha did make to the stadium, disobeying the orders of her parents. Shrestha said she found that the fans were a lot disciplined than what she had perceived.

Footballer attributed the changes in the attitude of the fans to Saathi's campaign, agreeing that it had indeed increased the number of female fans attendance in the stadium.

"Women and girls are like our mothers and sisters. How can we hurt them," said Hari Khadka, a former national footballer.

Though the effect of cricketers in the cause is yet to be seen, activists already foresee a successful outcome as Nepali cricketers bagged a berth in the ICC World T-20 Championship this week. The qualification is arguably the biggest achievement in the sporting history of the country.

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credit:Xinhua News Agency