Palestinian female footballers break cultural barriers

Nisaa Fm:- Hundreds of young girls are practicing their football skills across Palestine. Within the last eight years, women’s football has spread quickly among young girls, becoming the one of the most popular sports among Palestinian women.

There are now six registered adult teams playing in the outdoor league, and around 400 young girls over the age of 14 are registered as players.

These eager young women choose to put aside traditional drawbacks and challenge the male monopoly over the game.

Gender and cultural barriers mean that the sight of women playing football is still shocking to some Palestinians, who regard football as a men’s game. But fortunately and the number of young girls taking up football is increasing. Rajaa Hamdan Women’s football coach in the village of Deir Jarir outside of Ramallah, is pleasantly surprised by the increasing number of young female footballers “When I was young, the circumstances did not allow me to practice, but the idea stayed in my mind,” Hamdan used Facebook to connect with other young girls eager to play football and quickly established a team in the village. “I am happy because I realized my dream of getting girls out of the repression they face,” she said

Today there are around 40 girls training with Rajaa Hamdan in Deir Jarir. One of the young footballers Selma Fares, 12, explains that she is proud to be on a female football team “I am very happy to practice football with girls like me. It is my right”

Source: The daily star – Lebanon