Daily Times

Cricketer Shahid Afridi recently launched his biography Game Changer which unleashed many well-kept secrets of the Pakistani cricket fraternity.

The 44-year-old cricketer who announced his retirement from international cricket in mid-2018 launched his book on April 30, 2019.

Shahid Afridi’s book talks about his rags to riches story, 23-years cricket career, some dirty, dark secrets and even details about his family. Afridi is a proud father of four daughters namely Aqsa, Ajwa, Asmara and Ansha.

He is often seen spending quality time around his daughters, but in his book, he declares how he will not allow his daughters to play any outdoor sports supposedly for a career in the future. This statement alone has upset many of his fans around the globe.

“Aqsa is in the 10th grade, Ansha is in the ninth. They’re both great at sports and even better in academics,” writes Afridi.

“Ajwa and Asmara are the youngest and love to play dress-up. They have my permission to play any sport, as long as they’re indoors. Cricket? No, not for my girls. They have permission to play all the indoor games they want, but my daughters are not going to be competing in public sporting activities. It’s for social and religious reasons that I’ve made this decision and their mother agrees with me. The feminists can say what they want; as a conservative Pakistani father, I’ve made my decision,” Afridi wrote.

Firstly, this isn’t just a feminist issue. Various groups have shown concern over the matter and not just feminists. It is unfortunate that even after countless world tours and exposure, the cricketer still hasn’t broken off the conservative shell that cares more about the society and less about the child’s talent or desire. As a protective father, Afridi should be more concerned about what his daughter’s want as a career rather than what he demands-suppressing the child’s dream is also a form of mental abuse.

He is often seen spending quality time with his daughters, but in his book, he declares how he will not allow his daughters to play any outdoor sports supposedly for a career in the future. This statement alone has upset many of his fans around the globe

Many Pakistani parents are in a habit of choosing careers or a life partner for their children without paying heed to how it may affect a child’s personality and sensibility. Afridi also runs a campaign to educate underprivileged children. He may have advanced as a cricketer, who even understands the need for education in the country, but fails to understand the need of his own children.

Would suppressing a young Afridi-keeping him off the cricket field be fair? How is it then fair to suppress a female child? Why not keep the choice open for the daughters to choose when they are wise enough to make that decision?

There are many nosey trolls on Afridi’s social media accounts that keep educating the cricketer on how to raise his daughters. Could his decision be influenced by the super serviceable, nosey uncles and aunties on social media?

Afridi’s patriarchal statements have sparked a lot of trouble for the cricket superstar in the past. He gave a television interview in which he was chauvinistically dismissive about women’s cricket. When the anchor asked Afridi about his view on women’s playing cricket in Peshawar, Afridi replied derisively, “Our women have magic in their hands; they are good cooks.”

The anchor laughed it off and wanted to follow up with another question, when Afridi curtly cut him off, “Thank you. You got your answer.”

The statement that came from a father of four daughters makes it even more condemnable.

Afridi spends quality time with his family as they are all often seen enjoying events, cricket matches, and vacations together. We do hope that the cricketer will also become a Game Changer as a father when it comes to defeating the vexatious mentality of the people that dominate the skills of a woman to make them look less intelligent by limiting them to the four walls of a kitchen- as if making Rotis is the only skill they are capable of.

Dreams are meant to be followed. Children should be able to choose their own career and profession- we believe Aqsa, Ajwa, Asmara and Ansha will make mama, baba proud one day, no matter what career they choose for themselves.

The writer can be reached at zarimua@gmail.com