GENDER INEQUALITY: SOCCER ILLUSTRATION

THE other day I was so happy to come across my own illustration of gender inequality and how it negatively affects us. I wrote this back in 2015 for one of the feminist blogs on social media, when I wasn’t even a soccer fan yet. So I thought I’d share it today.

Anyway, Imagine 11 players of a soccer team with jersey numbers 1 to 11. Number 11 being the goalkeeper. So numbers 1 to 10 are divided into 2 groups, one group comprising of players 1-5 and group 2 being 6-10.  Now, these players are grouped according to their capabilities. It is assumed that players 1-5 are the strongest, fastest and most innovative, while players 6-10 are weak, slow and lack vision.

Now, because all these players are supposed to play together, the first group decides that because they are the most capable, they will pass the ball among themselves, they are even the only ones allowed to score goals.While the second (weak) group is expected to mindlessly move around the soccer field, trying to stay as far away from the ball as possible. This second (weak) group is supposed to do all it can to make sure that the first (strong) group stays strong by keeping an endless supply of drinking water, face clothes, keeping in mind that they are not meant to touch the ball.

Now, what’s happening in the field is not the initial objective. The aim was for the players to score as many goals as possible. But because only half the players are trying to score, and they are doing all the work of having to chase after the ball and pass it among each other - they get exhausted and wasted. They are simply overworked. They keep trying, and trying to score, but they just cannot. For 90 minutes they are running around the soccer field, only maybe managing to score once or not at all.

The assumptions

• The first group assumes that the second group is weak and slow.
• The second group assumes that the first group is stronger and faster than they are.
• The first group does not think that it is possible to effectively work with the second group; hence they try to do all the work by themselves.
• The second group consider themselves weak and incapable, hence they leave all the work to the first group.
• Soccer rules and regulations are made and amended and each time the rule makers focus solely on the needs of the group that is doing (being given) most of the work while the needs of the ‘weak’ group are neglected.
• The ‘strong’ group feels entitled to opinions and, therefore, starts dictating that the ‘weak’ group must have a different jersey colour and that they must walk and run a certain way.
• The ‘weak’ group considers themselves useless, so they keep taking these DOs and DON’Ts because they think the least they can do is ‘conform’.
• The negatives
• As a result, the first group is overworked.
• Because of the too much work, the objectives of the match (to score goals) are not met.
• No one even once tried to pass the ball to the second group in order to really test their (in) capabilities.
• More work keeps piling up for the first group, while the second group is made to cater to first group’s needs (water, face clothes) instead of, together with the first group, catering to the needs of the whole group.
• If things could be done a little differently...
• Instead of assuming that the first group is strong and the second is weak, if the ball could be passed around all the players - the exhaustion could be shared among all the players.
• More goals would be scored.
• The team members would learn to trust one another.
• Even when no goals are scored, no one would blame the other.
• Most importantly, everyone would have fun and in the process develop mutual respect for all team members.
• During trainings, all team members would put equal effort to develop muscle and strength.
• Needless to say, but anyway:
• The two groups (weak and strong) represent men and women.
• The labelling of the groups ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ represents gender inequality.
• The ‘assumptions’ are all the myths about the two genders.
• The ‘training of the players’ represents opportunities and privileges.
• The goal scoring represents development -economic, social and political.
• Lesson?

If all the team members are passed the ball (given same opportunities), by the end of the game, the number of goals scored would be double, or even triple.

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