By: Tash Gunawardana
SEVENTEEN-year-old Rabia Amin is in her second season at Knox in the Deakin University Eastern Region Women’s competition.
Of Afghani descent, Amin was born in Sydney and is of Muslim faith. She moved to Melbourne about four years ago and is grateful to her Falcons teammates in the way they have embraced her and her cultural beliefs after first taking up Australian rules football in 2018.
Amin and teammates take instruction from Knox senior women’s coach Dean Barton-Smith. PHOTO: Field of View Sports Photography
“I think the cultural acceptance and beliefs can be detrimental to any team, club and organisation and I feel without such foundations it becomes difficult to harmonise goals as a team and work together towards them,” Amin said.
“A disregard for diversity is what creates obstacles and promotes discriminatory behaviour and thankfully from my experiences I have felt very welcomed by my teammates despite not knowing the basics of AFL (Australian rules football).
“They were very accepting of me, my culture and my religion regardless of my lack of knowledge and the positive atmosphere is what really made me feel part of the club almost instantly.
“I’m proud to say that I have never felt like I have not belonged and it’s really just a great testament to the great coaches and the people around me who embody this image of cultural acceptance.”
After a chance sighting of a Knox women’s footy advertisement on Facebook, Amin’s mum encouraged her daughter to get involved.
“She (Mum) saw this ad and said maybe I can get my daughters into it, so that’s kind of how (it all started),” Amin said.
“I didn’t know much about the AFL at the time, so it was very, very new for me.”
Amin loves the community feel associated with the sport.
“I’d advise Muslim women to join and know that you will be accepted in the football community,” Amin said.
“The very nature of AFL will significantly increase your fitness and physical well-being.
“The sport does prevent some harsh challenges physically and mentally, but I have found that such trials provide you with an opportunity to push boundaries and learn about your potential on and off the field.
“Playing AFL also provides us with the opportunity to get to know people, make friends, you know the community sense of it draws all people from all facets of life to the sport.
“It allows you to become more involved and understand more about the people around you.
“I’ve discovered a newfound passion for the sport and what it values and I hope they do too when they join.”
Since joining the Falcons, Amin has been teaching her teammates about her culture and she has been learning about their culture too.
“Just exchanging information and you get to know about the diverse backgrounds that are not only present in your team but your team members get to know more about you,” she said.
“It’s just been something that’s been on mutual grounds and they are respectful towards me and want to learn more which is great.”
And, as with any footballer comes challenges.
“I’d say probably one of the biggest ones is Ramadan – once a year Muslims fast for about a month where we don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset,” she said.
“During this period of time it may be difficult to attend training and partake in games due to the circumstances.
“In regards to female members I have had a couple of umpires and (other) staff asking about the rules with the Hijab.
“Basically it’s part of religious obligations Muslim women are required to cover their arms, their legs, their face and the hair on their head, so this could be communicated to the umpires and respective staff if necessary.
“They have all been very polite, like I have never had anyone ask me abruptly why I’m wearing it.
“With the uniform policy if people are wondering and just to extend on that point a little bit there aren’t any restrictions regarding the Hijab or long sleeves.
“So feel free to let them know what colours they should wear, as per club colours or training just again for uniform reasons.”
According to Islam, Muslim women are not allowed to physically touch males if they are not related or belong to immediate family.
Amin provided advice for male coaches, as she feels there is a misunderstanding due to society not knowing particular Islam practices.
“It kind of falls on the guidelines of maintaining modesty in Islam and any concerns can be communicated to the members if required,” she said.
“Sometimes out of politeness or extend a handshake I can politely say I don’t shake peoples hands and they kind of feel embarrassed about it but I don’t feel that way.”
The sense of belonging playing Australian rules is what she loves about the sport and bonding with her teammates.
“The community makes me feel like I am part of a family,” Amin said.
“For the past couple of months or so I feel I have become closer with a lot of my teammates and it’s like family we see each other on weekends, we go out and that’s really nice.
“I also love the intensity of the game, I love facing obstacles, I love constantly having to be on high alert and on my toes and the long intervals make it really good for that.”
Amin has played other sports including swimming and taekwondo for about four years.
“When I was living in Sydney I was playing soccer outside of school and whilst in school I used to play NRL (rugby league) and softball,” she said.
“I also did basketball, but I had to stop it when I left for Melbourne but once we settled down in Melbourne in 2015 I went (back to it) and played for about a year.
“I also played volleyball at that time and then finally the AFL, which is the one I have stuck with for the longest.”
Amin keenly follows Richmond star Bachar Houli in the AFL.
“Bachar has been doing a really good job and I have followed him for a little bit.
“He has really stepped up and he is (promoting our culture) positively, which is something I respect.”
She says her positive experiences in Australian rules are a credit to the Knox Football Netball Club.
“Just the emphasis on the coaches and the people there,” Amin said.
“Dean Barton-Smith is a coach of mine and I have become so appreciative of his work and how he’s gone above and beyond to ensure all our things are communicated correctly, even though I am quite foreign to the rules.
“He is very understanding of Ramadan and of the uniform policy.”
“He is a very nice bloke and so inviting.
“On my first night, it felt as if they had gotten to know me.
“You know two minutes felt like two years, they were so inviting and so nice.
“I literally couldn’t pass the ball or take a mark and did not know how to kick a ball at that time, but they were so inviting me.
“Honestly without that positive impression the first impression that I had I probably would not have continued playing football, so they deserve the credit.”