Dribbling on in a COVID-19 world; Zhima, an Iraqi female basketball academy, grooms players and female role models

By Celia Thompson/UNAMI PIO

Erbil, 8 March 2021 – A civic organization geared towards developing sports in the Kurdistan Region is using basketball as a tool to groom young girls for leadership roles, and not even the Coronavirus pandemic is stopping them. 

– Building an equal community through sport –

This kind of project is befitting for the theme of International Women’s Day 2021, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.”

“Coronavirus cannot stop us because the pitch is ready.” 10-year-old Kama Khalil said in an interview. So, on Friday, 6 March, the team masked up and headed to Derbandexan, in the outskirt of Sulaimani, northern Iraq, to compete with their male counterparts in a friendly match.

“To get the girls back to the pitch, we sterilized the whole gym and the equipment. The girls use masks and gloves, and they wash and sterilize their hands before and after the games. Not one girl has contracted the disease,” explained Dr. Rizgar Mohammed Ra'uf, director of the Dream sports academy (DSA), which operates under the Zhima club.

Female basketball is not new in the Kurdistan Region as there exists other thriving female teams in Erbil, Halabja and Duhok. However, the establishment of the Zhima female basketball club and DSA in Sulaimaniyah, in 2016, reinforces the hope to develop the culture of women sports against the narrative that the woman’s place is at home.

“We train role models. Through basketball, we improve them psychologically, physically and socially. We also nurture their charisma to make strong female leaders for the future of Iraq,” Dr. Rizgar said. “We play sports; not religion or politics, and our goal is to promote peace and love in our community,” he added.

– Love for the game –

Fifteen-year-old Niza Khalil captains the under-14-team and has been with the academy for four years. She expressed her love for the game. “I love basketball and have been playing it since I was a kid. When we couldn’t come to the gym, we practiced at home.”

Eight-year-old Naz Jihad Omer, a second grader, started playing basketball six months ago. She says, “I feel excited when I play, and I want to be a good player. It’s fun.”

– challenges –

With over one hundred girls between the ages of 5 and 17 at the academy, the institution is not without its challenges. In addition to cultural barriers, lack of funds is one of the academy’s biggest concerns which can create hurdles for girls like Niza and Naz to develop their talents in the sport.

– hopes for the future –

But irrespective of those challenges, these girls have no intention to stop dribbling the ball. “Our plan for 2021 is to build our bodies so that we become tough on the pitch,” Niza said in a determined tone.

With such enthusiasm, the girls are hopeful to participate in Regional and international championships and win more trophies.

Outside the court, these young role models also invest in the environment to make it cleaner and greener. When they are not looping the ball in the net, they are either cleaning the streets or planting a tree. Under the banner of ‘each one, teach one’, after planting a tree with the team, 13-year-old Mina Amanj encouraged her father to plant one.