‘These are “our” sports’: Kabaddi and Kho-Kho women athletes from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Abstract

Women’s participation in sports and physical activities lags behind that of men, particularly among members of underrepresented or marginalized groups. Pakistani women from the rural areas of southern Punjab represent one such group. The aim of this study was to examine how traditional sports that are less well-known outside the Indian subcontinent offer opportunities for marginalized Pakistani women from Southern Punjab to participate in physical activities. Following a phenomenological approach, we conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with Kho-Kho and Kabaddi women athletes from underrepresented groups in Pakistan. Elo and Kyngäs’ three-phase content analysis process (preparation, organization and reporting) was used to examine interviews. The results of the study revealed that participants feel constrained by the systematic masculine hegemonic culture institutionalized by Pakistani society and the western sporting paradigm. However, the participants reported a sense of liberation and security via traditional sports. Our study contributes to the limited knowledge about women’s participation in traditional sports beyond the western world.