TEENAGE girls from India’s deprived areas took part in a ground-breaking football tour hosted by Malvern College.
The tour, named #kicklikeagirl, was organised by the Mumbai-based OSCAR Foundation which uses football to encourage girls and boys from poor communities to complete their education and set their sights on a worthwhile career.
Malvern pupils had been raising funds to provide a range of experiences for the girls during their visit as well as taking them on in a hard-fought football match.
The highly-drilled Indian side underlined their skill and pace with an entertaining 5-1 victory over their hosts and will also be playing matches against several other well-known schools.
“Young girls from India’s low-income communities face all kinds of discrimination,” said Ashok Rathod who set up the OSCAR Foundation in 2010.
“As their parents are uneducated, they are often forced to leave school or are married off very young.
“OSCAR wants to empower these girls and change their parents’ mindsets.
“We want these girls to believe in themselves, to give them opportunities to showcase their talent and let them dream big.”
The game has proved a tool in ‘selling’ education to poor families, thanks to OSCAR’s one simple rule, ‘No school, No football.’
From an initial 18 boys in 2010, the foundation now has 4,000 children across India in education, including 1,400 girls, although it took three years to convince their parents to enrol them in school, allow them to wear shorts and play football.
One turning point was the highly successful OSCAR boys’ tour to England in 2017 which gave the slum community the confidence to allow girls to travel.
“The boys returned very happy,” said tour organiser Lucinda Sowerbutts.
“They’ve become role models in their communities.
“These girls are the first members of their families to get a passport or go abroad.
“Seven had never seen a swimming pool before but they loved kayaking in the pool with Malvern College pupils as well as trying hip-hop dancing, climbing and cycling for the first time.
“It’s hugely exciting for them and they’re learning so many new things, they’re like flowers opening.”
