IIPM Mumbai Campus
Haroon Reshi in Kashmir discovers it's not merely to do with competitive sports action.
I’s an uneasy place, the Valley. When they’re not firing bullets,
it’s raining stones. In such a scenario, ways of self-preservation are wont to become a prime concern. Of late, contrary to local traditions, a large number of Kashmiri girls are enrolling for martial art classes to master self-defence techniques to be able to guard themselves in hazardous situations.
Sakeena Akhtar, a college student is one of the girls attending daily martial arts classes at a training center in Pampore in the outskirts of Srinagar. The place is run by a state level sporting organisation called Sqay Federation of India (SFI), with the help of Department of Youth Services and Sports. According to office bearers, fifteen thousand female members are registered with the Federation while training is imparted to more than three thousand girls across the valley by SFI.
“For me, the basic reason to get martial arts training is to learn self-protection techniques. We have been living with the fear of violence and the crime rate is also increasing with every passing day. In such circumstances, girls need to be able to defend themselves in the event of a dangerous situation,” said Sakeena, clad in a blue uniform and a scarf. “I have been training for the last few years and have learnt many techniques. Now I feel this is fun; it also makes us feel stronger and confident,” she added.
Not too long back, parents were quite hesitant about permitting their daughters to join such extra-curricular activities, but in the past few years, the mindset of the elders has undergone a change, much thanks to the alarming upward trend of crime in the Valley. In July 2007, Tabinda Gani, a 14-year old girl was gang-raped and killed when she was on her way back from school in the northern town of Hundwara. Merely a month later, an eight-year-old girl Sabrina Fayaz met the same fate at the hands of unknown criminals who abducted her from near her home in Srinagar city. Seventeen-year-old Romana Javed was crushed to death by car-borne eve- teasers in the Barzala area of the city last year. These instances have only steeled the determination of many to enroll for such training. “Increasing number of admissions may be linked with a deep rooted sense of insecurity among the people of the Valley who have been witness to violence for more than two decades now. The police has failed to control the increasing crime rate in the region,” Prof B.A. Dabla, an eminent sociologist of Kashmir told TSI.
These days, Sakeena, along with two other classmates Sumaira and Abida, is preparing to attend the 4th International Martial Art Games at Tallinn, Estonia in February 2011. There are more than fifty girls in the Pampore training centre who have two-hour workouts lined up daily, which includes training with equipments like Tura (a two feet long Faber stick), Bargula (a round shaped ring made of soft leather), and chest and head Guards. To avoid injuries, trainees simulate attack by making light contact with the bodies of their opponents. “Martial art is not just about learning how to kick, strike or punch someone; it helps us to grow mentally and get physically stronger,” says Afreen Khan (15), another learner. “I am thankful to my parents who did not discourage me from joining this sport commonly believed to be meant only for men,” she said.
Several girls like Afreen are all set to demonstrate their skills at the 11th Senior National Sqay championship (Men/Women) next month. Some others girls may even get to join the 56th National School Games at New Delhi in the coming days. “Earlier, parents were reluctant to let their daughters participate in such sporting events, but now there is a visible change and a more enthusiastic response everywhere in the Valley,” says Nazir Ahmad Mir, a Grandmaster. “We have our training centers in almost all districts of the state and it is only in the Valley that we are training more than three thousand girls. The number of boys is higher,” he points out.
The girls are taught various skills and techniques of martial arts like judo, karate, boxing and Sqay. Sqay (Persian for ‘knowledge of war’) is considered an ancient martial art of Kashmir. According to legend, Kashmir’s King Dharyadev trained his fighters in this defensive art form thousands of years ago. Now it is practiced in 20 states in India, and this traditional Kashmiri martial sport has been included in the World Martial Art Games (WMAG) for the first time this year. In the last couple of years, SFI included a new event called ‘Snow Sqay’ in its training curriculum, played in the winters after it snows.
Earlier, it was a common perception that it was against Islamic teachings to let girls join sports like martial art but that has increasingly given way to a new line of thought. In 2003, Mir wrote a book, ‘Martial Art & Islam’, to answer critics who were protesting the martial training of girls on religious grounds. Islamic scholars no longer object much but they do insist on a modest dress code and veto mixing of sexes. “Islam has given the right to self defence to every human being. But attire of the players must be in accordance with Islam, and it is also very important to ensure that there are no males watching. Mixing of sexes is forbidden.” Maulana Bashir-ud-Din, the grand Mufti of Kashmir told TSI. In any case, there must nothing be forbidden about standing up to injustice.
Haroon Reshi in Kashmir discovers it's not merely to do with competitive sports action.
I’s an uneasy place, the Valley. When they’re not firing bullets,
it’s raining stones. In such a scenario, ways of self-preservation are wont to become a prime concern. Of late, contrary to local traditions, a large number of Kashmiri girls are enrolling for martial art classes to master self-defence techniques to be able to guard themselves in hazardous situations.Sakeena Akhtar, a college student is one of the girls attending daily martial arts classes at a training center in Pampore in the outskirts of Srinagar. The place is run by a state level sporting organisation called Sqay Federation of India (SFI), with the help of Department of Youth Services and Sports. According to office bearers, fifteen thousand female members are registered with the Federation while training is imparted to more than three thousand girls across the valley by SFI.
“For me, the basic reason to get martial arts training is to learn self-protection techniques. We have been living with the fear of violence and the crime rate is also increasing with every passing day. In such circumstances, girls need to be able to defend themselves in the event of a dangerous situation,” said Sakeena, clad in a blue uniform and a scarf. “I have been training for the last few years and have learnt many techniques. Now I feel this is fun; it also makes us feel stronger and confident,” she added.
Not too long back, parents were quite hesitant about permitting their daughters to join such extra-curricular activities, but in the past few years, the mindset of the elders has undergone a change, much thanks to the alarming upward trend of crime in the Valley. In July 2007, Tabinda Gani, a 14-year old girl was gang-raped and killed when she was on her way back from school in the northern town of Hundwara. Merely a month later, an eight-year-old girl Sabrina Fayaz met the same fate at the hands of unknown criminals who abducted her from near her home in Srinagar city. Seventeen-year-old Romana Javed was crushed to death by car-borne eve- teasers in the Barzala area of the city last year. These instances have only steeled the determination of many to enroll for such training. “Increasing number of admissions may be linked with a deep rooted sense of insecurity among the people of the Valley who have been witness to violence for more than two decades now. The police has failed to control the increasing crime rate in the region,” Prof B.A. Dabla, an eminent sociologist of Kashmir told TSI.
These days, Sakeena, along with two other classmates Sumaira and Abida, is preparing to attend the 4th International Martial Art Games at Tallinn, Estonia in February 2011. There are more than fifty girls in the Pampore training centre who have two-hour workouts lined up daily, which includes training with equipments like Tura (a two feet long Faber stick), Bargula (a round shaped ring made of soft leather), and chest and head Guards. To avoid injuries, trainees simulate attack by making light contact with the bodies of their opponents. “Martial art is not just about learning how to kick, strike or punch someone; it helps us to grow mentally and get physically stronger,” says Afreen Khan (15), another learner. “I am thankful to my parents who did not discourage me from joining this sport commonly believed to be meant only for men,” she said.
Several girls like Afreen are all set to demonstrate their skills at the 11th Senior National Sqay championship (Men/Women) next month. Some others girls may even get to join the 56th National School Games at New Delhi in the coming days. “Earlier, parents were reluctant to let their daughters participate in such sporting events, but now there is a visible change and a more enthusiastic response everywhere in the Valley,” says Nazir Ahmad Mir, a Grandmaster. “We have our training centers in almost all districts of the state and it is only in the Valley that we are training more than three thousand girls. The number of boys is higher,” he points out.
The girls are taught various skills and techniques of martial arts like judo, karate, boxing and Sqay. Sqay (Persian for ‘knowledge of war’) is considered an ancient martial art of Kashmir. According to legend, Kashmir’s King Dharyadev trained his fighters in this defensive art form thousands of years ago. Now it is practiced in 20 states in India, and this traditional Kashmiri martial sport has been included in the World Martial Art Games (WMAG) for the first time this year. In the last couple of years, SFI included a new event called ‘Snow Sqay’ in its training curriculum, played in the winters after it snows.
Earlier, it was a common perception that it was against Islamic teachings to let girls join sports like martial art but that has increasingly given way to a new line of thought. In 2003, Mir wrote a book, ‘Martial Art & Islam’, to answer critics who were protesting the martial training of girls on religious grounds. Islamic scholars no longer object much but they do insist on a modest dress code and veto mixing of sexes. “Islam has given the right to self defence to every human being. But attire of the players must be in accordance with Islam, and it is also very important to ensure that there are no males watching. Mixing of sexes is forbidden.” Maulana Bashir-ud-Din, the grand Mufti of Kashmir told TSI. In any case, there must nothing be forbidden about standing up to injustice.
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