woman power
MAJIZIYA LIFTS A SPORTING REVOLUTION Majiziya Bhanu was just a normal BDS second year student two years before but things started to change when she decided to pursue her burning passion for the “not so popular” sports items Power lifting, Fitness and Physique and Arm wrestling.
Aparna Sreevalsan
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BRAND KERALA
“E
nthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” The above words by renowned 19th Century American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson is what made MajiziyaBhanu, the 23-year old Muslim girl from Vatakara, Calicut scale the heights of success to win the title `strongest woman of the State’ bestowed on her three times by the Kerala State Power lifting Association. Majiziya Bhanu was just a normal BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) second year student two years before but things started to change when she decided to pursue her burning passion for the “not so popular” sports items Power lifting, Fitness and Physique and Arm wrestling. Even though Majiziya had a crush on the largely male dominated sports like power lifting even as a kid itself, she got entangled in the taboos of religion and society since she belongs to a conservative Muslim family in north Malabar. For a Muslim girl who wears Hijab (head scarf), going for routine training sessions to Calicut to pursue her passion was a distant dream. But she overcame the obstacles on her path with sheer will power and determination to win a handful of medals for the country she represented. Today, though Majiziya is
SEPTEMBER 2018
being respected and acknowledged by the social spectrum, she still encounters certain challenges in the pursuance of her dream career. Majiziya unravels her success story and shares the concerns in her journey ahead to Brand Kerala. “First of all, I am not a body builder. I won the contest called Model Fitness and Physique which comes under the body building category. I was the gold medal winner and emerged Miss. Kerala in that contest. I have seen many people referring to me as a body builder. That is a misunderstanding. Basically I am a power lifter. I have participated in two Asian games which happened in Indonesia and Kerala respectively. In both games, I won silver medal. Also I do Arm wrestling. So in total I concentrate on these three categories of sports; Fitness and Physique, Power lifting and Arm Wrestling. This year, I won gold medal in National games for Arm wrestling. In October, I am going to Turkey for participating in World Arm Wrestling Championship representing India. I think in the open category I am the only woman who is participating,” says Majiziya. Lack of proper equipment and a recognizing institute in Kerala is one of the major reasons that these categories in sports are still the “not so popular” ones for the people in Kerala. Majiziya is an ideal example of those who are passionate about sports but can’t get trained properly. She adds, “I was very much interested
