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Hidden Struggles of Bangladesh's Female University Athletes
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Published in Sports and Competition on Thursday, November 20th 2025 at 0:55 GMT by The Daily Star- 🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication
- 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source
The Hidden Struggles of Bangladesh’s Female University Athletes
The Daily Star’s feature “The Realities of Female University Athletes” (June 2024) paints a stark picture of the uphill battle that women face in Bangladesh’s collegiate sports scene. Though the country has celebrated several successful female athletes on the international stage, the article reveals that behind those moments of triumph lies a reality marked by limited resources, gender bias, and societal expectations that often compel young women to abandon their sporting dreams for more “traditional” life paths.
1. A Landscape of Unequal Opportunity
The piece opens with a brief overview of Bangladesh’s sports ecosystem, noting that most funding and infrastructure—stadiums, coaching staff, sports science support—are concentrated in men’s football, cricket, and kabaddi. Female teams, especially at the university level, are frequently relegated to shared or secondary facilities. A 2019 survey by the Bangladesh Sports Council (link: https://www.sportsbd.gov.bd) found that only 18 % of university sports budgets were earmarked for women’s programs, compared with 45 % for men’s.
The article cites a representative from the Bangladesh Football Federation (link: https://www.bff.com.bd) who explained that the federation’s limited financial reach translates into sparse travel budgets for national league competitions. As a result, many university teams are forced to compete in regional tournaments only, limiting their exposure to higher-level competition.
2. Balancing Academics and Athletics
A recurring theme throughout the article is the double‑burden that female athletes shoulder. While the university curriculum is rigorous, the article’s author, sports journalist Mariam Khan, points out that most female athletes have to juggle late-night study sessions with early‑morning training camps. “We’re expected to be model students, but the coaching schedules don’t consider our academic obligations,” says Rafiqah Ahmed, a second‑year student and goalkeeper for Dhaka University’s women’s football squad.
The author also highlights that universities lack flexible policies for athletes. Only a handful of institutions offer academic extensions or makeup classes for training or competition. This policy gap pushes many talented athletes to drop out mid‑semester or, worse, quit sports entirely.
3. Cultural and Societal Hurdles
The piece does not shy away from addressing the deep‑rooted cultural attitudes that undermine female participation. A segment of the article focuses on how family pressures often dictate whether a young woman can continue in sports. Jannatul Huda, a sprinter from Chittagong University, shares that her mother insisted she prioritize “a stable career in medicine” over a potentially uncertain sporting future. “When I told my family I wanted to compete internationally, they asked me if I had any plan to support myself,” she recounts.
The article also brings attention to the “double standard” in media coverage: while male athletes receive extensive press, female athletes are frequently described with gendered adjectives—“cute,” “pretty,” or “girl”—instead of focusing on their athletic prowess. The Daily Star links to an academic study from the Journal of Gender Studies (link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021934718801125) that analyzes how sports journalism in South Asia perpetuates these stereotypes.
4. Inadequate Facilities and Coaching
Beyond financial and cultural barriers, the article delves into the logistical deficits that female athletes confront. Interviews with coaches at universities such as BUET and Jahangirnagar University reveal that most sports halls are double‑booked: the women’s squad often uses the same pitches as the men’s, but at inconvenient times. Moreover, most female athletes receive coaching from male coaches who lack specialized training in women’s sports—a factor that the article cites from the International Olympic Committee’s Women in Sport initiative (link: https://www.olympic.org/women-in-sport).
The Daily Star quotes Dr. Nargis Sultana, a sports science professor at the University of Chittagong, who argues that the absence of sports physiotherapy and nutrition support is especially detrimental to female athletes, whose bodies respond differently to high‑intensity training. She urges universities to partner with local hospitals for injury prevention programs, citing successful models in Sri Lanka’s National Sports Council (link: https://www.sports.gov.lk).
5. The Road Ahead: Advocacy and Reform
The article ends on a hopeful note, noting that several NGOs and government bodies have begun initiatives to bridge the gender gap in sports. The Bangladesh Women’s Sports Foundation (link: https://www.bwsf.org.bd), a non‑profit organization, has started a scholarship program for female university athletes, focusing on academic and athletic scholarships combined with mentorship. The Ministry of Youth and Sports announced a new “Women’s Sports Development Plan” in 2023, earmarking 5 % of national sports budgets for women’s programs.
In addition, the Daily Star features a call to action from prominent former athletes such as Morshedi Ferdousi, former captain of the national women’s hockey team. She urges universities to adopt “gender‑sensitive scheduling” and to incorporate sports into the academic curriculum—treating it as a subject rather than an extracurricular activity. Her words echo a sentiment shared by many in the article: that sustainable change requires institutional support as much as grassroots enthusiasm.
Conclusion
While Bangladesh’s female university athletes have carved out an impressive niche in the country’s sporting narrative, the Daily Star’s “The Realities of Female University Athletes” demonstrates that their journey is far from easy. From limited funding and inadequate facilities to cultural expectations and media bias, a host of challenges remain. The article concludes that meaningful progress will depend on a multi‑layered approach—policy reform, community advocacy, and societal shift—ensuring that the next generation of Bangladeshi women can pursue their sporting ambitions with the same dignity and resources afforded to their male counterparts.
Read the Full The Daily Star Article at:
[ https://www.thedailystar.net/campus/news/the-realities-female-university-athletes-4038691 ]
