India's sportswomen playing to be seen

How sport is giving some young women in India a way out of child marriage and allowing them to be seen. Officially, the practice of child marriage is illegal in the country. But UNICEF estimates that over 200 million girls and women in India have been married before they turned 18. Take Munna as an example. Her mother was fifteen when she married and Munna herself was only 14 when she was told she would be a child bride. However, she fought back, using football as her weapon. She broke social norms and took up the sport, including wearing shorts on the pitch, and fended off various attempts to marry her off early. Now her rebellion has spread to her youngest sister, who has felt emboldened by her elder sister and has made it to the state football team. Sport has also helped members of a marginalised community - the Siddis, who were originally brought to India from Africa mainly as slaves - to battle against discrimination. For Shahin her route was via judo. Divya Arya reports on how sport is helping some young women to break free from the bonds of early marriage and to forge an identity for themselves. Producer: John Murphy Programme mix: James Beard Programme co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Series Editor: Penny Murphy

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India's sportswomen playing to be seen is an episode from Crossing Continents by BBC.

This episode is 28:40 long.

This episode was published on Feb 3, 2026.

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