Mumbai: Breaking shackles, one tackle at a time

A womenrsquos kabaddi tournament was held at Cheetah Camp Mankhurd in March 2024 to mark Womenrsquos Day This year Coro India working for 35 years in Maharashtra and Rajasthan for sanitation Right to Pee campaign women empowerment tackling violence against women child rights gender rights and more held Season 2 of the kabaddi tourney for underserved community womenmdashmany of them toilet operators women from slums and transgender womenmdashat a public ground in Cheetah Camp on TuesdayThis event was a trailblazer as women toilet operators who run the slum toilets mainly in the area and around along with women in the slum organised that tourney There were 30 teams and a robust number of spectators cheering the 270 playersThe tournament at Cheetah Camp Mankhurd on Tuesday PicKirti Surve ParadeWhile the spirit was competitive at the outset it was evident that kabaddi was not just a game It was a medium for women to experience freedom safety and the right to public space It was all about smashing stereotypes be it that women should not be out on the playing field or that transwomen are simply to be ridiculed Transgender women often shortened to trans women are women who were assigned male at birth though they have a female gender identityThe mediumldquoWe are as much women as other womenrdquo said a transwoman Vrushali D who also worked with Coro ldquoThis is more than kabaddi This gives us transwomen a forum to interact with other women Doing so makes fears go away as we communicate with other women and address misconceptionsrdquo As she spoke a group of transwomen players Sufi H Sonia and Jasmin while pointing to the ground added ldquoWe feel good to come in here to practicerdquoldquoIt makes us feel part of society not simply people to be laughed at or dismissed There are a couple of stray insulting remarks when we practise but we ignore them In fact it spurs us on to play with more josh enthusiasmrdquo they saidThe changeAs women players trickled in from nearby areas and bastis Team Coros Rohini Kadam Kiran Khanderao and Anjum Shaikh said ldquoThis is about giving women confidence So many of these women actually wore a tshirt and track pants to practice for the first time breaking away from traditional attire That is symbolic as it means that they are also breaking the shackles and changing norms Most of the women have set foot on a playground after more than two or three decades This Cheetah Camp ground sees children and men playing different sports Even the fact that women are entering here practising and playing means there are heralding significant changerdquo they said ldquoMost women from this strata will have to answer numerous questions from family members who ask Why are you leaving the house Why are you playing a sport What does it give yourdquoThe confidenceThe excitement was high as volunteers were watering the maidan marking the lines for the kabaddi match Women players from some local sports clubs said ldquoWhile it is challenging for some women to be here to play there is family support Family members will be in the spectator stands to cheer Like in this sport so in life when we fall down dust ourselves off get up and gordquoThat sport and life connection found resonance everywhere as these women said they had a newfound confidence thanks to the game and improved selfesteem which translated into other areas of life The ground also held a Coro Counselling Centre ldquowhere women are made aware that we offer counselling services toordquo said counsellor Swati BansodeldquoMany of these women face domestic abuse and economic problems In these slums and other areas like this houses are very close together sometimes creating problems with neighbours In the end people have to live together as a community We help find solutions for that Here at the game we are the first point of outreach and those affected can come to our centres for helprdquo stated Bansode as the matches startedThough the prizes were on the table glinting in the afternoon sun ready to be awarded to the winning team it was evident that this was not about medals and trophies The space the game the cause organisers volunteers and players were all agents of change and winners in their own right