The father wanted to teach his daughter to play. Mother did not want that again – what will happen with sports, if you get married after the end of education! Tangail’s daughter Ayesha Parveen also fulfilled her mother’s wish, but before that she fulfilled her father’s wish. Played, became Bangladesh’s first female hockey umpire while wandering in the world of sports. Ayesha has been managing domestic hockey matches regularly for the past two years. In September 2019, she also managed the women’s junior AHF (Asian Hockey Federation) Cup hockey matches in Singapore.
The playground attracted Ayesha more than the reading table. Maulana Bhasani was standing on the blue turf of the stadium and said, ‘Dad encouraged sports a lot. Due to his job, I spent my childhood in Dinajpur. I studied at St. Phillips High School. I used to run to the gymnasium after school. Dad used to teach me cycling, gymnastics.
Ayesha used to play all sports in school. He became an ‘all-rounder’ in later life as well. While in school, she participated in the national handball for the Dinajpur Women’s Sports Association. After leaving handball, he joined the national archery team. Played in Bangladesh Games and World Archery Championship in Turkey. He has gold in shot put, silver in discus throw and silver in javelin throw in national athletics. Besides sports, Ayesha also studied sports. Bachelor of Sports degree from BKSP in 2008.
Ayesha is currently a sports teacher at BAF Shaheen School and College. He became a hockey umpire due to this job. Let’s hear the story from his mouth, “Every year there is an Antshahin hockey tournament with all the Shaheen schools in the country.” I was given the responsibility of teaching the game to our college boys. I thought, it is better to teach knowingly than to teach wrongly. In 2019, Ayesha participated in the umpires course of Hockey Federation. She was the only woman among the 22 who attended the course. Since then, he has been playing the flute regularly at the hockey ground in Dhaka. Ayesha also officiated matches in the recently concluded Shahid Smriti Hockey.
Since childhood, Ayesha’s fear is a little less. He used to do what he wanted to do, ‘I like to take challenges. For this, when I wanted to learn, there was no problem. It has been a lot of struggle to manage the job and family.
Hockey umpire Ayesha’s international debut in 2019. As the first female umpire of Bangladesh, she conducted the match in the Junior AHF Cup for girls in Singapore. Ayesha was talking about the thrill, ‘hands and legs were shaking thinking of having to play the flute for the first time abroad. I went alone from Bangladesh. If it is wrong, the honor of the country will go. The officials praised him in the report after the match.
Ayesha has to bear the criticism of her neighbors for umpiring as a girl. But she always got support from in-laws and husband Mohammad Solaiman. Being involved with hockey herself, Ayesha wants girls’ hockey to be regular in Bangladesh. It was nice to hear them. Federation will hold regular tournament for girls, this is the demand. Then we will get more matches. Ayesha’s dream is to manage matches in the World Cup of Hockey. His flute will play. People will see and say, ‘That girl is from Bangladesh.’