Women's football match called off in Sunamganj after clerics object
Organisers cite pressure from police.
A women's friendly football match in Sunamganj's Dirai upazila was called off today (5 October) after local Islamic clerics objected to the event and police asked the organisers to suspend it, the organisers said.
The match between Sylhet's Zara Sporting Club and Dirai's Swapnochura Sporting Club was scheduled for this afternoon at the upazila mini stadium.
Organisers had obtained prior permission from the upazila administration and informed police.
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Organiser and coach Rakib Ahmed said a group of clerics visited the upazila nirbahi officer's (UNO) office this morning to demand the match be stopped. "The UNO suggested the two local sides settle the matter through discussion, and police later asked the organisers to postpone the match."
"We were forced to suspend it. Once the situation normalises, a decision will be made about holding the match later," he said.
Dirai UNO Sanjib Sarkar said permission had been granted five or six days earlier. He said a group of clerics later approached him expressing concern about possible disruption to local peace.
"I told the organisers, since both sides are local, to discuss the matter and reach a peaceful decision among themselves. The organisers then announced the suspension," he added.
The UNO also noted the organising club is not a registered body.
Mawlana Sharif Uddin, president of the Dirai Anti-Islamic Activities Resist Committee, said the objection was not to girls playing football – which had happened before without interference – but to what he described as the prospect of women dancing and indecency on the field.
"We are not against sports. We are against obscenity," he said.
Rakib Ahmed said the organisation has been holding girls' football events in the area since 2019 and local girls regularly participate in national-level tournaments.
When contacted, Dirai Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Aminul Islam said police had been prepared to provide security for the match.
However, the OC said, "The organisers themselves suspended it due to the situation that arose. The overall situation in the area is normal," he said.
