Botswana’s Fatma El-Kindiy doing her bit to promote women’s rugby

Botswana’s El-Kindiy growing women’s rugby

JOHANNESBURG, May 3 (ANA) – Botswana Rugby Union women’s committee member, Fatma-El-Kindiy is pushing to grow the women’s game in the country, and has been recognised by Rugby Africa for her efforts.

The former Botswana women’s rugby player, now aged 37, was named as one of Rugby Africa’s ‘Unstoppables’ for her efforts in the development of the game on the continent.

In her own career as a player, El-Kindiy has seen a marked improvement in the participation of more teams in the women’s league.

With the number of players increasing over the years, she anticipates that there will be more athletes from school rugby, advancing to league rugby. Further to this she believes that there will also be more women coaches and referees in the near future.

As part of her outreach efforts, El-Kindiy launched the “A Try for Change”, which is a grassroots initiative to empower girls through the sport. She and others seek to teach young women and girls “to grow their self-confidence, as a means of unlocking their true potential in society”.

Rugby is used as a medium of instruction, but the goal of her work is to empower attendees to become agents of change in their respective communities – on or off the field. The program is targeted at primary school leavers and includes modules on introspective exercises, recreational activities with learning objectives, mentorships, as well as preparatory programs in enterprise development.

Coming from a conservative background which does not prioritise the involvement of women in sports, El-Kindiy has vigorously worked to change perceptions of elders and community leaders, to work with their support.

El-Kindiy has paved the way for reports and research, to find their way into the hands of key decision makers. Overall, the program has received a positive reception from participants, teachers and the Botswana Rugby Union, and plans are already afoot to run ‘A Try for Change’ again in the new year.

President of the Women’s Rugby Advisory Committee at Rugby Africa, Paula Lanco said: “the WRAC and creation of its sub-committees will ultimately help increase awareness of women in rugby, attracting more tournaments and partnerships with sponsors, increasing the overall popularity of the game in the continent.” – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman