Many girls around me used to play football but I was too petite growing up and I did not fit the usual description of the girls playing such sports because they were supposed to be not too-girly. I gradually stopped playing altogether but it was something that started to make me understand the gender discrimination in society at a young age. All kinds of men were acceptable when it came to sports because it was manly but girls into sports were expected to be not too-girly to be in sports or some circles, it was not accepted at all for them to be playing. Another major thing which I noticed was the kind of attention which males sportsmen used to get at our school in comparison to the girls' team who were not as appreciated and celebrated.
Today, I want to be insanely good at playing football, although I do not have much training now I still would want it. A sport is a kind of activity for me that break the gender barriers and that can break such stereotypes from society. It provides me a sense of identity and equality. It is something that makes me happy especially when I watch women successfully playing football and getting if not much, little attention. I want to be a professional football player because it was my childhood dream and sometimes I feel guilty of caving in at that time and not pursuing it. I feel like it is something that could have changed my life and I would have been at the position where I could support the other girls wanting to pursue their passion.
Gender discrimination is a kind of behavior, which is as common in the modern parts of the world as it is in the underdeveloped countries. The kind of discrimination is different in two, but women have to face biases from society in one way or another. I have seen the most successful and passionate women leaving their careers because they could not manage their family life but I have never seen men doing that. I have seen women getting paid less for the same job that men do, which makes me question the constructed gender roles in society. This is a triggering point for me which makes me want to fight for this discrimination in society.
I want to work for women's rights and want to be an activist in fighting the discrimination against women, just like Colin Kaepernick has worked towards fighting racism and bigotry in society (Branch). I would want to be in a professional football women team to actively speak about discrimination at a larger scale and would want little girls to pursue their dreams. I would work towards empowering women and encouraging them to pursue anything that they want regardless of set stereotypes in society regarding their gender, choices, or societal expectations. I believe that someone who has gone through something in life can only understand the true picture of the problem or can feel the feelings and emotions of people going through it (Wollaston). Therefore, playing football is something that I wanted as my identity, and as my career, not only for myself but also for me to work towards women empowerment. I want little girls to know that their physical appearance or their gender cannot stop them from achieving anything in life and they are as special as anyone else.
Works Cited
Branch, John. "The Awakening of Colin Kaepernick." The New York Times, 7 September 2017, https://nyti.ms/2xedUYz
Wollaston, Sam. "'It's sort of the extreme': Free Solo's Alex Honnold on Rock-Climbing Without Ropes." The Guardian, 26 February 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/26/free-solo-alex-honnold-climb-el-capitan-without-ropes-interview
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