KOLKATA: There is no Taliban in West Bengal but the district administration in Malda, about 350 km from here, was forced to ban a women’s exhibition football match following a ‘fatwa’ by a local Muslim cleric, leading to outcry and a huge controversy.
Mohammad Maqsud Alam, imam of a mosque in Chandipur in Harishchandrapur, issued the fatwa against the match saying: “Wearing shorts and tight clothes by women is against sharia. It’s a sin to watch such a game. I had told the villagers about it and they stopped the match.” He said the villagers petitioned the district administration to stop the match in which women were to take part.
The match was organised by the Progressive Youth Club to celebrate its golden jubilee in which national-level players were to participate. The club’s office bearers petitioned the district administration under the RTI Act and asked the reason for not permitting the match to be held. Interestingly, a majority of the club members were Bengali Muslims and they strongly decried the move.
Club president Reja Razi said, “An exhibition match between Kolkata XI and North Bengal XI was planned in which national-level women footballers were to play to encourage young women to participate in sports and games. We had sought permission months ago and it was granted. But we never imagined the administration would bow down to such evil forces citing law and order problems.”
Nausaba Alam, an ex-national who plays regularly for Kolkata Police, said: “This kind of incident in the 21st century is unthinkable. I am born and brought up in a religious Muslim family. My parents encouraged me to play football and I have never heard that sharia bans football. Many of my Muslim women friends play football in Kolkata clubs.”