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.

Avsnitt(2000)

BBC Trending: The Baku initiative?

BBC Trending: The Baku initiative?

In May, riots broke out in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia - a group of islands in the South Pacific. Protesters were calling for independence from the European nation that has ruled th...

2 Okt 202417min

Saving a sinking city: Jakarta

Saving a sinking city: Jakarta

Jakarta is facing all sorts of problems - deadly floods, land subsidence, extreme pollution, notorious traffic and overcrowding. Indonesia’s outgoing president has come up with an extreme solution: mo...

1 Okt 202426min

Assignment: Panama’s water fights

Assignment: Panama’s water fights

Panama is one of the wettest countries in the world. It also has a world famous shipping canal which earns it billions of dollars a year. With big money and high rainfall combined, it should be straig...

1 Okt 202426min

In the Studio: Ian Rankin, part two

In the Studio: Ian Rankin, part two

Ian Rankin is on a deadline to complete his next Inspector Rebus thriller. He is happy with the first draft: “at the moment, it is perfect!”. But what will others make of it? In the second of two epis...

30 Sep 202426min

In the Studio: Ian Rankin, part one

In the Studio: Ian Rankin, part one

Ian Rankin has been called “the king of crime fiction”. His Inspector Rebus books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, translated into 37 languages. And yet, as he embarks on writing the n...

30 Sep 202426min

The Fifth Floor: Who is Mexico's first female president?

The Fifth Floor: Who is Mexico's first female president?

On October 1st, Claudia Sheinbaum will take office and become Mexico's first female president. What will her presidency look like? With Laura García from BBC Mundo and Luis Fajardo from BBC Monitoring...

28 Sep 202426min

BBC OS Conversations: People in Lebanon and northern Israel

BBC OS Conversations: People in Lebanon and northern Israel

The escalating conflict between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel is being described as one of the most intense in recent times. The current fighting has been taking place since October last year with t...

28 Sep 202423min

Heart and Soul: Istanbul’s church of wishes

Heart and Soul: Istanbul’s church of wishes

In Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, queues of people of all faiths visit a Greek Orthodox Church on the first day of each month to make a wish. Emily Wither spoke to devotees who shared their hopes an...

27 Sep 202426min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

podme-dokumentar
gynning-berg
aftonbladet-krim
p3-dokumentar
badfluence
en-mork-historia
mardromsgasten
blenda-2
nemo-moter-en-van
skaringer-nessvold
killradet
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
flashback-forever
hor-har
kod-katastrof
vad-blir-det-for-mord
rss-brottsutredarna
svenska-fall
p1-dokumentar
rss-sanning-konsekvens