Women Sports Gala turns into Meena Bazar

Author: Rida Zainab

Women Sports Gala turns into Meena Bazar. Image: Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League (Facebook)

Women’s Sports Gala that was going to be held today, 5 October 2022 is now converted into Meena Bazar for ladies due to pressure and protests of opposition. The Festivity has constantly been criticized and called “Vulgarity” by religious groups.

Office of the Chief Secretary, Gilgit Baltistan Twitter account has updated about the festivity turning into a Meena Bazar which will be organized under all Islamic and cultural values. Additionally, the event will include mental health awareness activities, project showcase, handcraft and jewelry display. Furthermore, the event will include guidance and counseling on environmental and climate change issues. Various educational activities of women will also be presented in it.

The event venue is Lalak Jan Stadium. Moreover, men are not allowed to enter the venue. For the security, lady police personnel will be deployed.

As the event’s sole purpose was to promote and appreciate the women sports players of Gilgit-Baltistan, Noorena Shams, a Squash player, condemned the cancellation of the event. She expressed “Meena Bazaar and Business Fest are held every year. You just let closed minds win and your daughters lose.”

The event turning into a Meena Bazar itself is a gender biased driven decision. The opportunity for the talented young girls of Gilgit-Baltistan to showcase their talent within the premises of “only-women” stadium is pure cruelty. They have been deprived of the liberty to be able to even play their favorite sport. At some extent it is a question on the existence of human rights on a national level where humans just because they are born girls cannot play games or sports. Sports doesn’t differentiate between genders. The Office of the Chief Secretary, Gilgit Baltistan had mentioned in their tweet few days back how excited the players were for the festivity, taking “U-Turn” just a night before the event is deceitful to all the players.

A girl from Hunza Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan, Farzana Rehmat won two gold medal in Special Olympics held in Abu Dhabi in 2019. She was 15-year-old when she made the country proud.

Picture: Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP)

Mahnoor, a four-year-old from Nagar district’s Hooper Valley, stunned the world by winning a silver medal in ice speed skating at the Winter Olympics held near Nagar from 17th to 23rd January this year.

Malika-e-Noor, a football player, Noorena Shams, a cyclist, a cricketer and a squash player and many more sports players talent and future are at stake. For, if sports is seen as vulgarity right now, later the sports might even be banned for women of GB.