Being a woman and playing soccer is a political act. A declaration of freedom. Power to combat preconceptions, to inspire. The latest editions of the World Cup have shown globally that women fill stadiums, score great goals, and are clear about what they want. They are soccer players and they want to put an end to the discourse that condemned them to be in the shadows for years.
8 billion people in the world and 49.7% of them are women. …
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Being a woman and playing soccer is a political act. A declaration of freedom. Power to combat preconceptions, to inspire. The latest editions of the World Cup have shown globally that women fill stadiums, score great goals, and are clear about what they want. They are soccer players and they want to put an end to the discourse that condemned them to be in the shadows for years.
8 billion people in the world and 49.7% of them are women. Why was half the planet’s population denied for so many years to have a voice and a leading role in football?
The answer is the system. An order of things that established roles for men and women. Stereotypes that limited the fields of action for them and, therefore, their power. Economic, political and even dreaming power. The absence of representation sustained over time the impossibility of thinking differently.
But there were always pioneers, women outside the mold who demanded equality. The suffragettes, the feminists in the 70s, the activists for the right to decide. The practice of sport was one of those conquered scenarios, first as a vindication of the physical capacities -of the body itself- and later as a platform to demand changes in society.
The players from the United States -USWNT- represent that power very well. They achieved equal pay after a tough legal dispute against their Federation and became icons of a diverse society. The world champions in 2019 now suffer backlash from conservative sectors after their fall in Australia. Women like Megan Rapinoe make people like Donald Trump uncomfortable. He has always made it clear.
The 2023 World Cup has shown a change, but it has also revealed that the gaps still exist. Girls and boys excited in the stands and on the streets, but also the demands of teams like Panama, South Africa or Jamaica for fair conditions. Even the great powers still have challenges in terms of sporting structure and planning. A more equitable football industry.
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Catalina Usme, captain and all-time goalscorer for Colombia, explained it after the match against England. “This cannot be the ceiling, it cannot be the end. This has to be the beginning of better things for this team, better conditions, an ambitious project that makes us work hard (…) Colombia can be a power, but I want us to give these girls better conditions so that they come and win a World Cup ”. Couldn’t say clearer.
The representation also reached the media in this World Cup. Lots of women leading coverage, filling newsrooms, setting agenda items. It could not be otherwise. Journalism should reflect who we are as a society. Nothing more and nothing less than the voice of the other half of the world… And of all those that we still have to add.
Sarah Castro Lizarazo (Bogotá, 1985) is a political scientist from the National University of Colombia and a specialist in journalism from the Universidad de los Andes. She is currently the director of Diario AS USA
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2023-08-13 04:30:00
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