Kashmir’s first female football coach Afshan Ashique said she pelted stones at security forces as they misbehaved with them.
Last week during the student protests in Kashmir Valley, few photographs of a girls pelting stones on security forces outside Women’s College in Srinagar went viral on social media sites. Among them was a photograph of a girl, who dreams to play football for India. Afshan Ashique is Kashmir’s first female football coach.
“Yes, I pelted stones, but that’s not what I want to do. I want to play at the national level for India,” said 21-year-old Afshan Ashique.
“Last week, when we were going for our routine football practice, we saw a group of boys pelting stones on securities forces due to which we were unable to reach the playground for practice. So we stood there and waited for police to allow us to pass by.”
Police Misbehaved With Us
“I told the girls not to panic and asked them to wait. Police misunderstood and assumed that we were there to pelt stones. A cop walked up to us and slapped a girl and called her names. That enraged us. I wanted to stand by the girl, so we all started pelting stones at police,” the female coach told India Today.
However, police have a different story to tell. “The girls knew that we won’t retaliate and that is why they started throwing stones at us,” said the police.
Afshan Ashique talking about the situation in Kashmir said, “I am not against the government, but at the same time we can’t tolerate misbehavior from the police. It is very difficult for us to find space in national teams. We have to prove our worth and if the government will help us, why should we not accept the same.”
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also interacted with Afshan Ashique on Saturday and appreciated her efforts as a football coach. The chief minister also urged her to motivate other girls to pursue football in Kashmir.
