Amreen Kadwa, a talented and passionate rugby player, was named the Most Valuable Player on her team at the Victoria Park Collegiate Institute and the Yeomen Lions Rugby Football Club.
“You don’t get that kind of adrenaline rush and energy boost through anything else,” Kadwa said of the sport.
As much as she loved rugby, she admits to being uncomfortable in sports in the past, due to her religion, culture and appearance, “especially in my youth when I was navigating who I was as an individual,” said Kadwa, who emigrated. From India to Scarborough with her family at age 10, she identifies as a Muslim from South Asia and wears a hijab.
Although his rugby teammates were open-minded and understanding, he said that he still sometimes took off his hijab to fit in more during practice. Also, he said, “Alcohol is a big part of rugby culture, so we would go to bars after almost every game. It just wasn’t my scene, so I wouldn’t feel welcome there. “
Four years ago, Kadwa founded and became the CEO of Hijabi Ballers, an organization that serves the needs of Muslim girls and women, regardless of whether they wear hijabs, in sports, increasing their levels of participation and recognizing and celebrating their Athletics. .
Now 26, Kadwa was not alone in her feelings of exclusion. An Ontario Sport Network survey of Ontario residents ages 13-64 showed that nearly a quarter of respondents did not feel welcome in sports; three-quarters believed accessibility was one of the biggest barriers to participation in sports, and just over a quarter said body image issues were barriers. To encourage all Ontarians to see themselves in sports, sign up for leagues and programs, and raise awareness of the benefits of sports and recreation, the network has launched a province-wide awareness campaign; the Hijabi Ballers is one of the featured groups.
“This is Your Sport” also draws attention to barriers that Ontarians say prevent their participation, including pandemic-related league closures, accessibility issues (proximity, cost, intimidation, and being unwelcome) and security concerns surrounding COVID-19 that caused a pandemic. related league closures and a decrease in registration fees across the province.
The Hijabi Ballers addresses two of these barriers. The first is financial: Most of its programming, which includes walk-in basketball clinics among other sports, takes place in low-income neighborhoods within Toronto, Kadwa said, though some occur on the GTA or online. .
For some Muslim women, accessing sports faces financial challenges, Kadwa said. And some, “come from culturally conservatively minded immigrant families, where sports are not a priority. Access to free or low-cost sport is key to engaging Muslim girls and women in sport and rekindling their passion for sport. ”
The nonprofit also addresses inclusion.
Scarborough-born Mehnaaz Bholat, who identifies as South Asian, avoided participating in sports for many years because there were no programs for hijab-wearing women. She joined Hijabi Ballers to stay active after having children.
“It was amazing to find the brotherhood,” said Bholat, 31.
“We need sport to be recognized as a place where everyone is welcome,” said Ontario Sport Network Chairman of the Board of Directors Michele O’Keefe. “Sport should be seen as a safe place where everyone can play and be active.”
This is important, he added, because “we have witnessed the cost of inactivity not only on ourselves, but also on our children, our friends and our community.” That cost includes health problems, both physical and mental, fewer opportunities to build confidence and develop leadership and teamwork skills.
The network is working to provide the safe and inclusive spaces and resources that Ontarians need today, O’Keefe said. Plans include creating strategic partnerships and organizing a series of regular speakers, holding workshops for sports administrators, and developing an online center with a curated collection of sports policy resources.
Another study, the Canadian Women & Sport’s “Rally Report: Encouraging Action to Improve Sport for Women and Girls” found that the participation levels of Canadian girls are much lower than those of boys, with one of every three girls who drop out of sports in their late teens, compared to a dropout rate of one in 10 for teens. Sports participation rates for Canadian girls decline steadily from childhood through adolescence, with up to 62 percent of girls left out of sports entirely.
In many societies and cultures, girls and women are at a disadvantage in almost every aspect of their lives, said Humaira Sedu, a member of the Hijabi Ballers. “That they even think about playing (sports), where they are not given the same access to resources as their male counterparts, is a big step. Women in sports are not just about playing. It’s also about fighting for the opportunity to play every day. It’s fighting with the world to show that what you’re doing is important, that you deserve to be respected, and that you deserve the resources to achieve your goals. “
Women in sport build connections, develop confidence and are encouraged to push boundaries, O’Keefe said.
Sports changed the life of Kelsey Mitchell, who started competing in track cycling at age 24, “late enough in life to start a new sport,” she said. The now 28-year-old overcame the steep learning curve to win gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in women’s individual sprinting and gold in women’s track cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Keeping sport in your life “doesn’t mean you have to try to go to the Olympics,” Mitchell said. “It could mean signing up for that recreation league, trying out for the new school team, (or) going to a gym or a training class that you never tried.”
Four years later, Kadwa has dabbled in many sports, including basketball, tennis, golf, and skateboarding. “Without playing sports, I would not have the leadership and communication skills that I have today,” said the Flemingdon Park resident. “I feel very safe, not only as a leader but also as a woman.”
Reference-www.thestar.com