The Abyei Football Academy has stopped girls from attending training, preventing more than 50 people from participating in the sport.
Officials from the Academy say the mothers of some players asked for the ban because the coaching sessions prevent their daughters from doing housework.
The academy launched in January of this year offering sports programs for boys and girls aged 8 to 16, with about 200 participants total.
Some of the girls have spoken out against the decision and want it overturned. 15 year old Mary John, who lives in Abyei Town and had participated in the football programme, said she would ask the academy administration to reverse the ban. She said football was very important to her and kept her fit.
Academy football coach Arop Monytoch said it was a shame to bar the girls from playing football. He said it took a lot of time and effort to set up the girls’ teams.
Arop said some of the girls’ mothers had complained that their daughters could not combine football with doing the housework. He said he wanted to arrange a meeting with parents to discuss the issue further.
One parent, Christine Justin Deng from Abyei Town, said she supported the ban even though her 14-year-old daughter attended the academy. She said she worried that her daughter would learn bad behavior from other girls she met at the academy.
Tabitha Chol Menyiel, executive manager of Abyei Women’s Empowerment Organization, urged the academy administration not to “surrender” by barring girls from playing. She said there should be no discrimination against girls.
“If boys were allowed to play, then so should girls,” she said.
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Abyei’s football girls kick down gender barriers (19 Jul.)
Reporting by Abyei Today