Bench by Culture: Struggles of female sports enthusiasts in northern Nigerian universities

Bello Rokeebat, a 300-level Social Sciences Education student at the University of Ilorin, has loved sport from her earlier days. Growing up, she often snuck out to watch football matches, skipping lessons and hopping fences, all in pursuit of a passion that society tried to deny her.

When she was finally allowed to pursue her interests in football, it was not without constant judgements and absurd comments that questioned her religious convictions. Rokeebat noted that lots of people around her think playing football converts women to lesbians. They police her body and judge her modesty, the holy book neither forbids nor restricts women from sporting, but religion is often used to guilt trip women out of their passions.

“I wish I was born as a boy, because there’s no way a girl child would do what a man does and not be criticized. Football camp only allowed guardians visit twice weekly. But my dad came daily, because he feared I’d turn lesbian if left alone,” she recounted.

Rokeebat explained that playing football means developing a strong build, or other traits peculiar to men. This led to the absurd ideology of female athletes being lesbians. In a conservative society fully grounded in traditional beliefs as can be found in Nigeria, one just learns to overlook, work hard, and pray to do well without being singled out as a lesbian. That’s passion, effort and mental strength in one.

Simbiat Bakare, a gender advocate and the founding director of one of the leading media platforms that promotes women’s rights, Naija Feminists Media, explained the stigma surrounding females pursuing sports as a career.

Simbiat noted that religious and cultural doctrines on modesty automatically exclude women from participating in sports. Especially those that do not have the freedom to drop the doctrines. They have to sacrifice their passion to fit into religious beliefs and cultural expectations.

Speaking on the importance of self confidence in women, Simbiat explained that breaking societal stigmatisation means not letting the opinions of others control your life decisions. It means normalising doing what you love, even if society disagrees.

“If you would love to be a sports star, go for it! Society will adjust, and you will pave the way for other female sports stars to rise,”she said.

The latest survey conducted by the group Women in Football found that 89% of women working in the game have experienced discrimination in the workplace, up from 82% in 2023 and 66% four years ago.

Sporting as an activity requires physical strength and mental agility – features women are generally believed to lack. Through years of consistent hard work and commitment to the craft by able women, it has been consistently proven that sports is not just for men. The Nigerian female football team, Super Falcons, have made it to the World Cup finals twice, a feat the Super Eagles have not been able to achieve. And they went further to emerge champions of Africa for a record tenth time.

Many believe being a young adult in a University equates to freedom to do whatever whenever. This is not the case for Rokeebat. Despite having the skills required, sexist remarks bottled her potential.

When she tried to contest for post of the Sports Director in 200 level, she wasn’t allowed to buy the form because the position was unconstitutionally designed for men. Her tenacity got her the form eventually, but not the men’s votes.

In football gatherings, she’s not seen as another football player, but a pretty distraction. “I get sexual jokes thrown at me. Doing a man’s work means you’re always with a men, so they expect you to be open to whatever they say regardless of your feelings,” she stated.

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When Rokeebat is called a distraction, it’s just a one man’s opinion, it reflects the global outlook. Data compiled by Women Sports Foundation shows that “Girls still have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play sports than boys.”

A research conducted by UN Women reflects that, globally 7 out of 10 people now watch women’s sports. Almost 73 per cent are interested in watching the female gender play at least a few times a year which is not too far behind compared to the 81% of those watching men’s sports with the same frequency.

Despite this surge of interest, the world hasn’t totally agreed on the prowess of the girl child in regards to sports. Beyond the statistics, both players and sports enthusiasts are restricted in their willingness to play, watch or even enjoy sporting activities in many parts of the country due to societal and religious norms.

Rokeebat’s story isn’t isolated, in conservative communities like Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS) even watching a match can become an act of defiance.

Arike Hassan, a third year student of UDUS had never shown an iota of love for football publicly despite being a very big fan. Until she let her intrusive thoughts win on that very night. A close friend who is aware of her interest asked if she’d like to watch an ongoing match at the viewing center just like everyone else . “I couldn’t decline because I have no other means of watching the match that night even though the men-filled crowd was enough to remind me of the silent rule” she explained.

The dim lit room felt eerie at first, it felt like she was the one being watched instead of the match. But a few minutes into it the spirit of sportsmanship made her relax into the crowd. “I would have probably tried it again if that was all, but what came after made me regret ever stepping my feet in there,” she explained.

Arike received serious backlash from colleagues who felt her interest was not effeminate, unexpected of a Muslim woman. Weeks after, there were still side talks on how daring and bold she was for being comfortable in a place meant for men.

Simbiat Bakare opined that the female’s gender interests in sports is received with such hostility because it is perceived to be “indecent” or “unfeminine,” and this highlights control over women’s bodies and lives.

The Sport Director of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Student Union, Muhammad Rahman Olamide, in an interview with this reporter explained that the low participation of female students in sport is due to lack of enthusiasm.

He noted that there are female sports enthusiasts who aren’t showing their interest openly due to fear of judgement and criticism. He however assured that the current administration was working towards promoting women’s sports by creating a supportive environment where everyone feels encouraged and empowered to pursue their interests without fear.

Way forward

Simbiat explained that one way to normalize women sporting in conservative communities is to dismantle the systemic barrier they face. There has to be a lot of intentional awareness to let the communities know that women’s lives are, first and foremost, their own. Everything else, including religion and societal expectations, is secondary.
Women are adult humans who can choose their path, decide what profession to pursue, and determine what they are comfortable wearing.

In addition, Societal awareness must be raised to let women choose their own path and their own form of expression, physically, career-wise and so on. “Policies and agencies must also reinforce this freedom of expression. For example, an agency should be set up to report and prosecute people who violate women’s right to expression,” she concluded.

Simbiat said such recommendations are not just bureaucratic fixes, but survival tools for girls like Rokeebat who have been shut out of doors on the basis of their gender.

By: Umar Maryam Ayomide

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