When a motley group of girls in the Muslim-dominated suburb of Mumbra started playing football in secret, they had no idea that three years later, they would be able to kick the ball without inhibitions, in a place where they won’t have to watch their back. In a landmark decision for gender-specific urban planning and one which will encourage more women to reclaim open spaces, the Thane municipal corporation (TMC) has decided to allot a 4,000 sq m plot for the exclusive use of the suburb’s girls. In doing this, the civic body has done what women’s organizations have demanded for years and what bigger municipal corporations have failed to do. Beyond its general advantages, the idea of a girls-only plot is great news for Sabah Shaikh, the captain of the football team.

“For us, even getting out of the house without a naqab (veil) was impossible. To take off the naqab and play in full public view requires guts,” says Shaikh. For the first year, Shaikh’s discreet adventures in football were a secret. Eventually, she was able to tell her mother. But even that, says her friend and goalkeeper Salma Ansari, was after she injured her toe and couldn’t conjure up any more stories to explain on-field injuries. In the Mumbra that Shaikh describes, open spaces were practically forbidden to women. “That was something we wanted to change,” says Ansari.

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