“You belong in the kitchen, what you're doing is a waste of time…find another job.” This was one of dozens of comments posted on the Facebook account of footballer Zahra Mohammed Azraq, known as Wargo, who plays for the Al-Merrikh club in Omdurman, when she took part in the first match of Sudan’s women's football league, on September 30, 2019.

Wargo says the experience left her “psychologically devastated. I felt this overwhelming desire to just quit football altogether.” She says she was bullied, and some comments directed against her compared her to a man.

Wargo fell in love with football as a child and played alongside her peers in her local neighbourhood and at school, but support from her family was lacking. She says that some of her relatives urged her mother to stop her from playing women's football.

Wargo believes that this lack of family support has had a negative effect on her mental health and has affected her footballing career. She explains that some Sudanese people believe that women are not free to choose what they want to do, and that this brought her many challenges in her daily life, including on social media.

Juju, who played in the women's league, says that negative comments, whether on Facebook or shouted from the crowd, have caused a number of players to end their careers. Juju says she knows of one player who was forced by her family to get married, while others were prevented from playing in competitions because their families refused to give them permission, after hearing the negative and abusive comments directed at them.

Juju wonders how these women could go on playing, when “bullying” comes even from the coaches. “Cruel, abusive language and insults have a mental effect on players. They are faced with it on the street, on the playing field and at home, and it makes you hate both society and football,” she says.

We found hundreds of negative comments against women players being posted on Facebook after every game. Most often players were described as “mutluqa”, which in Sudanese dialect means a woman who disobeys her family, or “bayira”, meaning a woman who is seen by society as too old to get married. Other comments contained sexual innuendos, or accused the players of wanting to get married and of trying to attract the attention of men.

Traditional Society

The deputy head of the women's section at the Al-Hilal club, Mashaer Osman, acknowledges the violence against female footballers in Sudan, which she puts down to the conservative nature of Sudanese society: “Ninety per cent of Sudanese families are conservative and are still unable to accept the idea of their daughters becoming footballers. That’s why female players face a lot of criticism and face attacks on social media.”

Mashaer Osman has seen this hardship first hand. She says she was aware of women who were pressured by their families, and stopped from playing when she was in charge of players registration at the club: “It was really challenging trying to get some players registered. You’d find one who really wanted to join the team, but someone in her family would refuse.”

Othman believes that the main reason families are so strongly opposed to girls playing football is the fear of the abuse female players face from society, whether directly or through social media platforms.

Sports journalist Hiyam Taj al-Sir says that bullying of female players has gone so far as mocking their appearance and questioning their femininity, but some have managed to face down these challenges, and go on with their sporting careers.

“Negative comments against female players come not only from social media users, I’m afraid they also come from the management in some clubs, who don’t see the participation of women as necessary or important in itself, but are just responding to the demands of the international football system,” says Salma Sayed, women's representative and board member at Al-Merrikh football club.

Salma adds, “It’s a real pity that football associations and club presidents haven’t yet developed well-thought-out plans to promote real female role models who are participating in sport.”

Death Threats

When it comes to female referees, it is not only a case of bullying, insults and sexual innuendos, but also death threats. Sudanese international referee Rimaz Osman says her experience in women's football is not the norm, as she was supported and encouraged by her family, particularly her father, a former referee and secretary of the youth team at the Family Club in Khartoum. But Osman says even her journey has not been without bullying, negative comments, and disapproving looks from a society that turns its back on any woman who goes into football.

From a legal standpoint, lawyer and human rights activist Noon Kashkoush says that this type of offence comes under the cybercrime law. She says that female footballers who have been verbally abused have the right to make complaints against the online platforms, or the people leading campaigns against them, whether they are currently residing in safe cities in Sudan, or are outside the country. This is because cybercrimes are punishable under the law of the country where those concerned reside, or any other country where the people responsible for the platform are based.

Kashkoush insists that there is nothing in Sudanese law prohibiting or criminalising women playing football at amateur or professional levels.

Paragraph 17 of Chapter IV of the Sudanese Cybercrime Act of 2007

states that: “anyone who uses an information network or a computer or similar device to defame another person shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or  fined, or both.”

Instruments for c\Character Assassination

Consultant psychologist and director of the Omnia Centre for Training and Development for Psychological Skills, Dr. Ibtesam Mahmoud Ahmed, describes social media platforms as tools for character assassination. This is because of the amount of verbal abuse on them, the psychological impact of which can be depression, fear, and a desire to stay out of the spotlight, leading victims to close down their Facebook and other accounts in response to this abuse.

Dr Ibtesam thinks that Sudanese society's categorical rejection of women's football and the negative comments made against female players are because they have stepped outside the cultural and social framework of a society that believes football is not suitable for women and that their wearing sports clothes is contrary to Islam.

She urges women footballers to deal firmly and decisively with any negative comments and bullying, and not allow themselves to be discouraged  by cruel words or social traditions.