It is very unusual to see women playing football in Somalia, following pressures from society and the fear of the militant group Al-Shabaab. The Islamist group regularly launches attacks in Mogadishu and believes that all kinds of entertainment including women’s football are evil.
But a group of young women from the city has defied all odds to play football. These women, 60 in total, have signed up to train at the Golden Girls Centre, the first female football club in the country. The women told the AFP that they had always wanted to play football but had never had the chance to do so. On Wednesday, March 21, they finally had the chance to do what they love as they came out with their beautiful team kits to play football.
In Somalia, it is taboo for women to be seen in public wearing shorts, trousers or T-shirts, so these female players wore tights underneath their baggy shorts and covered their hair but they were still criticized by some, including men who had gathered to watch them.
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