India's sportswomen playing to be seen episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 3, 2026 · 26 MIN

India's sportswomen playing to be seen

from The Documentary Podcast · host BBC World Service

How sport is giving some young women in India a way out of child marriage and allowing them to be seen.Officially, the practice of child marriage is illegal in the country. But UNICEF estimates that over 200 million girls and women in India have been married before they turned 18. Take Munna as an example. Her mother was fifteen when she married and Munna herself was only 14 when she was told she would be a child bride. However, she fought back, using football as her weapon. She broke social norms and took up the sport, including wearing shorts on the pitch, and fended off various attempts to marry her off early. Now her rebellion has spread to her youngest sister, who has felt emboldened by her elder sister and has made it to the state football team.Sport has also helped members of a marginalised community - the Siddis, who were originally brought to India from Africa mainly as slaves - to battle against discrimination. For Shahin her route was via judo.Divya Arya reports on how sport is helping some young women to break free from the bonds of early marriage and to forge an identity for themselves.This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 3, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

India's sportswomen playing to be seen

0:00 26:44

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Documentary Podcast?

This episode is 26 minutes long.

When was this The Documentary Podcast episode published?

This episode was published on February 3, 2026.

Can I download this The Documentary Podcast episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!