India's sportswomen playing to be seen

India's sportswomen playing to be seen

How sport is giving some young women in India a way out of child marriage and allowing them to be seen.

Officially, the practice of child marriage is illegal in the country. But UNICEF estimates that over 200 million girls and women in India have been married before they turned 18. Take Munna as an example. Her mother was fifteen when she married and Munna herself was only 14 when she was told she would be a child bride. However, she fought back, using football as her weapon. She broke social norms and took up the sport, including wearing shorts on the pitch, and fended off various attempts to marry her off early. Now her rebellion has spread to her youngest sister, who has felt emboldened by her elder sister and has made it to the state football team.

Sport has also helped members of a marginalised community - the Siddis, who were originally brought to India from Africa mainly as slaves - to battle against discrimination. For Shahin her route was via judo.

Divya Arya reports on how sport is helping some young women to break free from the bonds of early marriage and to forge an identity for themselves.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

Jaksot(2000)

Ros Atkins on: The UK’s rising Covid cases

Ros Atkins on: The UK’s rising Covid cases

More than 50,000 Covid cases have been recorded in the UK for the first time since mid-July. Hospital admissions are also rising, however, daily deaths have fallen slightly. Ros Atkins examines what’s...

23 Loka 20219min

Denmark’s Red Van

Denmark’s Red Van

A unique project aimed at reducing harm to women selling sex in Copenhagen… Every weekend night in Copenhagen’s red light district of Vesterbro, a group of volunteers pull up and park a Red Van. This ...

21 Loka 202126min

The lost art of breathing

The lost art of breathing

After recovering from pneumonia for the third time, journalist James Nestor took decisive action to improve his lungs. He questioned why so many humans - and only humans - have to contend with stuffy ...

19 Loka 202127min

A series of unfortunate events

A series of unfortunate events

Justin Rowlatt discovers how phosphorus may have held evolution back for a billion years. How plants first colonised the land - precipitating an ice age in the process. And why volcanoes have both res...

17 Loka 202124min

The Story of Aids: 2. Act Up fights back

The Story of Aids: 2. Act Up fights back

It began in March of 1987, when the playwright Larry Kramer gave a speech at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York’s West Village, telling half the room to stand up. He bluntly inf...

16 Loka 202150min

World of Wisdom: Forgiveness

World of Wisdom: Forgiveness

Forgiving someone who has hurt us badly can seem impossible. Bearing a grudge can feel like carrying a bag or rocks. Can we learn to move on and forgive?Author of Universal Human, Gary Zukav, offers i...

16 Loka 202118min

Climate: Activists

Climate: Activists

World leaders, scientists and activists are preparing for next month’s UN climate change summit in Scotland. These talks have been taking place for decades - but you sense the world is watching like n...

16 Loka 202124min

Ros Atkins on: China-Taiwan tensions

Ros Atkins on: China-Taiwan tensions

In recent weeks, China has sent a record number of military jets into Taiwan’s air defence zone. The Taiwanese Defence Minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, has said that tensions between China and the self-gover...

16 Loka 202110min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
i-dont-like-mondays
kolme-kaannekohtaa
poks
aikalisa
kaksi-aitia
antin-palautepalvelu
sita
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-nikotellen
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
loukussa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
lahko