A women’s football match in Bangladesh was called off after protests by students from a traditional religious school resulted in damage to the venue, marking the second incident of its kind in as many days.
The friendly football match, scheduled to take place in the northwestern city of Joypurhat between the district women’s team and a team from Rangpur, had to be cancelled as the venue and its facilities were vandalized, according to local organizers.
Organizer Samiul Hasan Emon explained, “The Islamists in our area congregated in a field and marched towards the venue, numbering in the hundreds. The situation escalated, leading to the cancellation of today’s event.”
Headmaster Abu Bakkar Siddique of a local religious school noted that he and his students, along with teachers and pupils from other religious schools, participated in the protest. He stated, “Girls’ football goes against our beliefs and is considered un-Islamic. It is our religious duty to prevent such activities.”
This incident occurred following a similar demonstration in Dinajpur, where a match was postponed the day before after protesters armed with sticks staged a demonstration. The girls participating in the match were relocated to a safer location just half an hour before the scheduled kick-off time.
Amit Roy, a local government officer, reported that four individuals sustained injuries during the clashes between protesters and counter-demonstrators, but they have all been discharged from the hospital.
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) promptly denounced the events, with BFF media manager Sadman Sakib emphasizing that football is a sport for everyone, and women have the right to participate in it.
