Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Letting Girls Play: The Mathare Youth Sports Association's Football Program For Girls, Martha Brady, Arjmand Banu Khan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This case study documents for the first time the process of integrating girls into a community-based youth sports program. It tells the story about the power that is unleashed when girls are given the opportunity to play. The authors describe how the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), begun in 1987 as a self-help club for boys that linked sports and environmental improvement, has evolved into a successful program that provides new opportunities for boys and girls alike in the poorest neighborhoods of Nairobi.