GIRL LEADERS' STORIES
21 years old is pursuing her graduation and is hearing impaired. She completed school with the help of her now deceased mother who used to attend classes with her. However, she never stopped running and playing, winning several state & national level events, particularly in long distance running. Sports and leadership programs made her confident.
Nidhi (Slum Soccer)
18 years old used to stay with her parents - her aged father is construction worker, and her mother, a housewife. Her father was unable to financially support her studies after finishing school and had severe mental health problems which led to domestic violence and severe trauma for Kajal. Since 2017 Kajal was interested in working on environmental issues but had to restrict her activities to her own home. She was part of the Solve Ninja skilling program for eight weeks and later became a mentor as well.
Kajal (YUWA)
24 years old, is from Saraswatipur, Siliguri, West Bengal. Her parents work in the tea garden and she has 5 sisters and a brother. Rima Started Playing with Khelo Rugby in 2013. As her parents could not afford to educate all their children, Rima secured admission at a local anganwadi school (Child care Centres in India) on her own. With the help of Khelo Rugby she was able to complete her education.
Rima (Khelo Rugby)
CHANGEMAKERS
SABA KHAN
OSCAR Foundation, Mumbai
20 year old Saba is one of 4 siblings in a low-income orthodox Muslim family in Mumbai, where she watched all her female cousins get married at 18.
Saba’s resilience & talent got her selected to represent OSCAR at YFC Rurka Kalan’s 2017 football tournament in Punjab, after which a lady coach from OSCAR, Nagma, paid her parents a visit to persuade them to let Saba play.
Hearing about Saba’s desire and achievements, her mother who herself had never had the privilege of education or opportunities, started to stand by her, lending Saba the confidence to challenge her community’s traditional mindset. She also helped Saba mobilize children from her community by encouraging other parents to send their children for football practice.
#BREAKINGBARRIERS
ANJONA MAJHI
Playquity, Assam
Anjona belongs to an underprivileged community in the Balijan Tea estate Assam, India. She lost her mother at 5 and was brought up by her father, who is a tea estate labourer. Circumstances forced her to start supporting her family right after school with entry-level sales roles across Bangalore & Dibrugarh.
Her life transformed when she was introduced to Ultimate Frisbee in 2021 through the Playquity program. She fought gender bias in her own community and a lot of times from her own family members including derogatory remarks about the girls' sports attire, her lack of involvement in domestic chores and the constant pressure to get married. Yet she persevered, she had bigger dreams not for herself but for her community.
She helped expand the Chabua operations from 1 to 3 locations and also helped onboard 8 more coaches in Playquity sites across the country. Today Anjona is a coach at Playquity, and leads 2 cohorts in nearby villages, impacting about 30 girls. Her influence has spread across neighbouring communities in Manipur and Meghalaya too, where she travels to help underprivileged girls build confidence and lead in their community.
Based on her demonstrated leadership, she was recently upgraded to be KickOff Solutions' second recipient of a 3-year coaching-academy seed capital.
#BREAKINGBARRIERS
