Her hijab firmly in place, she slings her bat across her shoulders and rides her scooty to college and practice, challenging not just her rivals on the cricket field but also societal and religious stereotypes. As captain of the women’s cricket team in Baramulla’s Government Women’s College, Insha Basheer Ahmed is one of the young women setting trends in this suburban town in north Kashmir and in the Valley.
Most of the women players on the team wear hijab or burkah and play with bat and ball. Insha, too, wore her burqa when she first started playing, but the society in which she lives did not take it well and often taunted her. An undeterred Insha now wears a hijab and confidently plays.
In the year 2017, she won the Inter-University cricket tournament. Speaking to media she says “I want to stay independent and play without fear.
When Isha started playing cricket, there was a lot of people had objections in taking up the sport. When asked about her journey inspite of all the troubles, she said ” The journey has not been easy. When I used to step inside the ground with the bat, people used to complain to my father. My family has been my pillar of strength. My Urdu professor Rehmatullah Mir also supported me.
“we started a campaign on social media with the hope of getting some help, but the comments from the male-dominated society were discouraging. Then, with the help of the college principal, we decided to form a team and compete within the university,” he added.
Isha’s father Basheer Ahmed who is a fruitseller wishes to see her daughter wear the Indian jersey one day. Basheer says “I don’t care about what people say and would rather focus on what my daughter wants All I wanted her to do is pursue her dream. I am thankful to her coaches Gurdeep Saheb and Showkat Ahmed for training her well. Cricket is only a game but they have developed in her a fighting spirit,”.
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