'Let girls shine': CM Mamata Banerjee steps in after 1st Santhal football referee's marriage pressure plaint; urges parents not to force daughters
Times of India | 8 August 2025
JHARGRAM: When 25-year-old Rajshree Hansda - the first Santhali woman to become a national football referee - walked up to CM Mamata Banerjee on the podium at Jhargram stadium to receive her sports kit on Thursday, she leaned forward to whisper something "personal" to the CM. Minutes later, Banerjee told the gathering that Rajshree had informed her that she loved football and wanted to pursue her career as a referee but was under pressure from her family to get married. The CM not only asked chief secretary Manoj Pant to "help" Rajshree but urged all parents to "let their daughters shine".
"She told me that there was pressure on her to get married... People should not force daughters into marriage. Let them shine in life. Women today can be independent and run families, even the country.
They fly planes and drive trains... In a survey that I conducted, I was proud to find out that my Kanyashree daughters (beneficiaries of Bengal govt scheme for girls) have became pilots, engineers or professors. They are working across the world with dignity. Please understand that they will make you, Bengal, and the country proud. You must realise that they are the spine of this society," Banerjee said.
Grateful to CM that she heard me: Rajshree Rajshree lives in Gopiballavpur's Patulia with father Dama, mother Raymoni, two brothers and a sister. The family sustains itself through farming. She completed her schooling from Nayagram Thana Girls' School and is currently a third-semester student of Masters in physical education at Panskura Banamali College. Rajshree played football during her school days and later passed out of Gopiballavpur Referees' Academy, an AIFF and Bengal govt project to train women referees. In May this year, she graduated as a national referee. She has officiated in senior national and sub-junior national football matches. "I am grateful to the CM that she heard me," Rajshree said. Addressing the gathering in Jhargram, the CM highlighted the social impact of Kanyashree, the one-time direct cash transfer scheme for girls in high school and colleges aimed at preventing school dropouts and stopping early marriages. "We initiated Kanyashree in 2013 and it bagged first place in UN Public Service Award. At that time it was meant only for schoolgirls but then I requested parents to not force their daughters into marriage and encourage them to study. Kanyashree has now been extended to cover girls in schools, colleges and universities. Besides, a Rs 10 lakh smart card is also being given for pursuing higher education," she said.
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