With
International Women's Day upon us, it's not time to be talking about
football, right? Football is played by men and watched by men, I mean
how many famous female players can you name? And IWD is all about
serious topics like gender violence, and not about fun things like
sport.
Not
my opinion but I'm sure some people think that way.
In
fact at the East Africa Cup in 2010, I got a strong reminder of how
sport can influence the way girls and women are viewed and how it can
work as a tool to challenge gender stereotypes.
The
head of referees at the EAC, who is also the first female Kenyan
Premier League referee, was being interviewed on the BBC World
Service flagship programme The World Today*.
She
talked about how sending men off in local matches was initially scary
because of threats of violence, and how people in her community
respected her after seeing her successful career. It was during the
2010 World Cup, and she was talking about attitudes to women,
domestic violence, and expectations of gender roles to an audience of
millions. It was a conversation that was happening because of
football.
The
EAC isn't just about the high profile success stories though: it's a
tournament for people using grassroots sport in their community
throughout the year. Half of youth participants are girls. They play
football at the event, attend workshops, meet people from other
countries… importantly they participate visibly in community
activity.
Some
go on to become referees, community leaders, first aiders or sports
medicine practitioners. Others participate in media skills workshops
and learn things which can help them in their careers. For others the
EAC is a reward for working hard at school throughout the year:
putting on a kit and playing in a team will not lead to a job, it's a
chance to get fit and be part of a team.
All
of which can have an important effect on how women and girls see
themselves and how they are perceived in their community.
Listen
below to the interview with Maqulate Onyango - head of the referees
at the East African Cup.
*
the global audience for the World Service is around 180 million
