‘For us, the biggest thing is respect’

Earlier in January this year, Bangladesh women's cricket team captain Nigar Sultana Joty spoke to The Daily Star's Ekush Tapader and discussed the Tigresses' successful journey in 2023, her team's expectations in new year as well as the current state of women's sport in Bangladesh. As the whole world is celebrating International Women's Day today, here's the excerpts from that exclusive interview which struck a chord.  

The Daily Star (DS): How do you view the significance of women's sports in the country?
Nigar Sultana Joty (NSJ): I feel that the things have changed. I used to think that the people are not that interested in women's sports. But now, there is huge interest in women's football. The women's footballers are also doing quite well. In other sports as well, the women are making progress. In abroad, they give women's sports the same amount of importance as men's sports. I don't know if the men's and women's sports are getting the same importance, but the situation has improved a lot.

DS: Some countries have opted for equal pay for men's and women's teams.
NSJ: It has happened in some places, not everywhere. In India, the men's and women's team get almost the same benefits from their board. I don't know if something like this would happen in Bangladesh. We have many limitations, there are also some problems in our mentality. Still, what's the harm in remaining hopeful. The Bangladeshi women in sports are bringing medals for the country, achieving great things. But for us, the biggest thing is respect. We don't want bags of money, we want to be respected. We want to feel important. We want to see that we are getting prioritised. The women hope for the respect that men receive in every sport.