A victory that should unite a divided nation

The SAFF Women’s Championship success could not have come at a better time for Bangladesh, a nation divided along many lines and one that is trying to recalibrate its identity following a major shake-up in its socio-political landscape.
The win may not have generated as much euphoria as two years ago when Sabina Khatun and Co first proved their supremacy at the South Asian level. That is probably because Bangladesh were one of the favourites this time around and the outcome was not too much of a surprise. Or perhaps it could be because of the current state of our collective being: our hearts full of desire for a brighter future, yet our minds numbed by the fear of uncertainty. But that is exactly why this victory should be more significant than the previous one.
This victory could at least teach us, as a nation, a lesson or two about sticking together through tough times and achieving glory through unity. That’s because this group of girls have not only conquered South Asian football, twice in a row now, they have been conquering extreme social, cultural, and economic hardship, injustice even, all through their lives.
If you ever happened to have stepped inside the Bangladesh Football Federation premises in the bustling city centre of Motijheel, you may have wondered how this group of girls, living in such a shabby dormitory, go on to conquer a much-more privileged opponent like India.
The answer, perhaps, lies with the fact that these Bangladeshi girls have taken on adversaries from a very young age — adversaries in the form of social stigma related to women in sports and in the form of their families’ desire to marry them off at a very young age.
Our women’s football team is an extremely diverse sporting unit as they come from all corners of the country — from the remotest village on the coastal belt to the foothills of Garo mountains, from the dreary flatlands on the north to the mountainous terrains on the southeast. They come from diverse ethnicities, religions, caste and creed — all living under the same roof, sharing their lives through football all the while trying to forget the ills of the past.
Many of them come from communities which face racial abuse till this day because they don’t share the same culture with the majority. Many of them have seen their kinsmen live in constant fear of those who oppress them and try to usurp their land and properties. But these girls have taken all those episodes in their stride and made the country proud, leaving the countrymen sing their praise in unison.
Now it is the state’s responsibility to ensure these girls get a better life and start across all sectors of the society the practice of equality and inclusivity, which have been catchwords of Bangladesh’s ‘second independence’.