WOMAN POWER

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

“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

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

in power lifting and arm wrestling. The only way I could get trained was to go to Calicut town. But during school days it was impossible for me. I was not matured enough to do that. Also I didn’t get enough support too. I had to face many challenges and issues for being a Muslim girl. Now I am a final year BDS student studying in Mahe Dental College. During the second year of BDS, which was in 2016, we had a vacation in between the academic year and many friends went to learn Spoken English, Typing, Computer etc. but I

WHILE I WAS LEARNING BOXING, MY COACH SUGGESTED THAT POWER LIFTING WILL BE MORE SUITABLE FOR ME.

went to learn Boxing. I started with boxing. While I was learning boxing, my coach suggested me that Power lifting will be more suitable for me and I decided to learn Power lifting. In December 2016, I began learning Power lifting at Calicut. Jayadas sir is my coach for Power lifting and within two weeks after joining, I got the chance to participate in district championship and I won. I won gold medals in district, state and national level championships.”

Majiziya had to face many issues from the society, because she is the only woman who participate in Arm wrestling and Power lifting and she is waiting for another woman wearing hijab to participate.

She explains. “Issues happen when we come into the limelight. Many people support me as a person who won medal for our country. But certain elements try to cash in on the `hijab factor’ and communalize my success story by adding negative connotations. They simply ignore the achievements I have won for our country. I am facing a lot of issues like social media criticisms, cyber-attacks and I have already filed cases against these. This even affected the sponsorship for my trip to Turkey next month. In our country, we have many women in the field of sports but it’s the first time a girl wearing hijab is representing our country, so the people who agreed to sponsor me were also worried about the `implications’ and withdrew from the sponsorship. I was mentally down because I got selected for the World Championship. So I arranged a press meet and from there some organizations agreed to donate an amount. Also, one of my friend’s brother and his company agreed to sponsor me. With that money I have to go and participate in the Championship and come back. Somehow I can make this event happen but what about the upcoming events!”

Her parents are very supportive even if many among their community still stand against her. Many asked her to stay at home and do the household works and get married soon. Every day

after her dental classes, she used to travel 60 km by train to Kozhikode to a gymnasium.

“My parents support me very much. They also had to face issues from society but they never kept any sort of restrictions on my interests in sports. There are many girls and women who are interested in going to gym and other sports. They have started coming to me to seek advice on what needs to be done since they were inspired by my success story. It’s a big relief for me now that, we have a gymnasium opened in our village. I think I have done a great job by being an example for them. If a Muslim girl called Majiziya Bhanu from this village can achieve something like this, many girls can achieve bigger. Situation has changed. There is a special time for ladies in gyms and many women of different ages come there. They started being conscious about their health and body. It’s a great change.” She says.

Many Muslim girls wanted to join in these sports items but they are afraid whether they have to remove their hijab and that might turn out to be a big issue. But the International rules never asked anyone to remove Hijab

If I can do power lifting, I am confident enough to do weight lifting too and I hope to participate in the next Olympics.

Majiziya Bhanu

before participating in an event. They respect and welcome all religions and all cultures.

“We are allowed to wear hijab and participate and many people doesn’t know about this. They restrict their children following the local rules in our places. I follow the International rules. The people in our area have a very narrow concept on sports which focuses on either Cricket or Football. They might have seen other sports items on television but they are not ready to accept them. Till this moment we don’t have a recognized institution which gives training in other sports items. It is not possible for school or college students to go to Calicut daily and practice Power lifting. Like how there are institutes and other facilities to learn dance and music along with studies, we should provide the facility in our place to learn these sports also. It is my dream.” She adds.

“After completing my course, I can start earning and work to accomplish my dream. After completing my BDS, I will explore my own ways to make my dreams come true. I have huge support from my college management because I never miss any classes. I take leaves when I have events to participate. I can invest for my games and events. Government support is limited because I have never been to Olympics. So soon after my next event, I will concentrate on Weight lifting. If I can do power lifting, I am confident enough to do weight lifting too and I hope to participate in the next Olympics. Other than all these I am interested in music and travelling. My brother is a dancer and he is into choreography. He is now doing his Degree first year in Qatar. He is working in Kalakshetra Qatar. He is a swimmer and through him only I got interested in sports,” Majiziya concludes with a thankful smile before getting back to her pressing routine.

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