The Editorial Viewpoint ("A sporting chance?” Parsiana, December 21, 2019-January 6, 2020) mentions that women in the community are underrepresented in sports.
As a Zoroastrian from the Indian Parsi diaspora living in Chicago, how did things change for us? The establishing of Title IX law in 1972 resulted in an increase in the number of Parsi female athletes in America. The law states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Federally funded institutions such as public schools are legally required to provide girls and boys with equitable sports opportunities. Eighty percent of schools in America operate under this system.
Prior to Title IX, one in 27 girls played sports. Today it is two in five. While we have far to go before every girl has equal access to sports, we are clearly making headway. From gymnastics and water polo, to basketball and swimming and now soccer, American women are dominating the Olympic scene. Hundreds of girls have benefitted from this law. Thanks to increased funding and institutional opportunities there is a 545% increase in women playing college sports and a 990% increase in playing high school sports.
Parsi Zoroastrian women today are taking advantage of opportunities to play sports and are carrying the lessons they learn from sports far beyond the field of play. Sports help girls achieve success on the field, in the classroom and in boardrooms across the country.
The Yuwa girls soccer team in Jharkhand with mentor
Franz Gastler (last row, 2nd from r) Photo: Facebook
Now, let’s turn to a program called Yuwa run by Franz Gastler in a village in Jharkhand, India. It’s a story about how sports, specifically football (soccer) changed the lives of girls in an area where 63% would have become child brides. Empowered through football and education, sports took the women on a different course, increased their self-worth, opened up their future, gave them confidence, raised their hopes and potential and helped them realize their dreams. The girls needed three things, a field, a football and a coach. Franz provided the infrastructure. He created a hunger to learn and tapped into their unlimited potential.
I hosted this girls’ soccer high school team in Chicago on their way to Michigan to compete with American girls. In 2019 their sports achievements were recognized at a sports gala in Monaco, along with winners from the European Union. In 2020 four of the Yuwa girls will start their education at American universities, based on scholarships.
If Gastler could do this in India, why can’t the Parsi Zoroastrian community do the same in Bombay, Poona and Udvada? There are facilities in South Bombay, where I grew up, with the Princess Victoria Mary Gymkhana, the playgrounds at the baugs, Azad Maidan, the Cricket Club of India, National Sports Club of India, and the idle Parsi gyms.
PORUS DADABHOY
Chicago, Illinois, USA
porusdad@gmail.comThe editors reply:
Sports facilities for girls/women do exist. But there are few female takers. The Zoroastrian Premier League could muster up 10 male football teams but not a single women’s team. Besides facilities there has also to be a change of attitude and promotion of daughters’ sporting ambitions.
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On reading your Editorial Viewpoint ("A sporting chance?” Parsiana, December 21, 2019-January 6, 2020), I am prompted to write that sports have always been an integral part of my life and a source of inspiration. I participated in swimming and track and field events during my childhood. During graduate school I trained in Krav Maga, a fighting system developed by the Israeli defence forces, a mixture of boxing, judo, aikido, wrestling and karate. And, I’m currently an avid weightlifter, hiker, and love yoga and flamenco dance. Movement is imperative to maintain a healthy mind and body. It also creates a solid foundation for self-confidence and personal strength. I find movement and sports to be a great source for women’s empowerment, which pours into the rest of my life, particularly my career as a journalist and writer.
Growing up in Kenya as a Parsi I noticed that women in our community were apprehensive about taking part in sports. However, my family was enthusiastic about sports with my father and uncle being tennis players. With a cohort of male cousins and a brother, I was always thrown into the mix of soccer, cricket, swimming and martial arts. It gave me the opportunity to explore and participate in what would lay the foundation of a healthy life and be a source of inspiration and power.
I hope to encourage many other women in our community and beyond to pick up the barbell or the basketball, learn to box, or go for a hike. It can be intimidating at first for some, but once they start experiencing the mental and physical results, they will want to keep exploring. ZENOBIA RAVJI
New York, USA
zenobia.ravji@gmail.com