Being born into a misogynist society with little to no incentives and daily obstacles for playing a ‘men’s game’ – nothing could stop the fierce girls from the coastal district of Khulna.
Despite being subjected to verbal abuse frequently, they always held their ground like Bengal tigresses. Until one day, at least four members – Sadia Nasrin, Mangali Bagchi, Hajera Khatun, and Jui Mondal of the under-17 Khulna divisional football team were attacked for ‘wearing shorts’ and ‘playing football’.
The girls are now passing each day fearing for their lives. Given how the situation unfolded at Tentultala village of the Batiaghata upazila, even stepping out of their home is a safety concern now.
At least 30 players used to join the daily practice session on the Super Queen Football Academy’s field every morning.
After the incident, barely 10-15 players come for practice, said footballer Hajera Khatun – who was a victim of the attack.
Tentultala Super Queen Football Academy’s President Islam Howladar said that the attack has caused dread among the footballers.
“We have to call the players for coming to practice sessions every day now,” he said.
Torturing the young footballers in a medieval way didn’t stop the attackers. Adding to the terror, the accused also threatened to harm the footballers’ families, file false cases against them, and even with acid attacks, said the victims.
“They said we can’t play football wearing shorts in our village. They even threatened us with acid attack. I can’t sleep at night. I’m paranoid to the point it feels like they are going to attack me again any time soon or resort to acid attack,” said seriously injured player Mangali Bagchi.
Sadia Nasrin, the captain of the team, who filed a case accusing six people, said they have been subjected to multiple threats by the attackers.
“One of the attackers threatened to kill us after we started taking legal action. He threatened acid attack, false cases against our families if we don’t withdraw the case,” she said.
The footballers called for protection and demanded justice.
It all started when some of the footballers were photographed without consent while they were practising.
Sadia Nasrin recounted that the incident unfolded when a neighbour girl named Nupur Khatun took their picture while they were practising at the academy on July 27. Nupur shared the photo with Sadia’sparents and made derogatory comments about her.
When Sadia confronted Nupur on July 29, she was verbally abused, and when she protested, she was subjected to a brutal beating, including slaps, punches, and injuries to her face and chest.
Disturbed and distressed, Sadia informed her parents, coaches, and teammates about the incident, leading to a confrontation at Nupur Khatun’s house. The situation escalated when Nupur’s father, Noor Alam Khan, her brother Salauddin, and mother Ranji Begum attacked the footballers with iron rods and threatened to kill them with Chinese axes, she said.
Mangali Bagchi, one of the injured teenage footballers, revealed the extent of the violence and said that Nupur and her family members mercilessly beat her, cracking her head with a rod, and kept her tied up for about two hours.
After the case was filed, police arrested Noor Alam Khan, but the other accused obtained bail on Tuesday.
Sadia filed another complaint on July 31 regarding the acid threat, and the police said they are conducting investigations in both cases.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Batiaghata Police Station, Shawkat Kabir, said that police officers are actively patrolling the village to ensure the safety of the footballers.
“We informed the girls and their parents to report any issues immediately,” he said.
