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Laventa Amutavi, Ferdinand Omanyala's partner, has opened up about the challenges married women in sport face and pointed out that parents should allow children to follow their own passions without pressure.
Ferdinand Omanyala’s partner Laventa Amutavi has opened up about one of the struggles married women in sports face as they look to build their careers and make names for themselves.
Speaking in an interview with Hey Mama Africa, Laventa Amutavi explained once women get married, parents tend to advise them to quit their respective sports and focus on nurturing their families but things have now changed.
She explained that sports is a career and things should not change when one gets married. They should always be given equal chances just like men when it comes to pursuing their interests even after having children.
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13:58 - 17.10.2024
'Let’s put some respect to our athletes'- Ferdinand Omanyala calls for better coverage of athletes
Ferdinand Omanyala urged bloggers and sports journalists to focus on positive coverage of athletes, emphasizing the need to respect their efforts and avoid demoralizing them with negative stories, having been a victim of the same earlier this year.
“The challenge that we have experienced a lot, especially women in sports, is that our African parents are not accustomed to the culture of women doing sports after marriage. They are always like once you get married, then you have to stop running,” Laventa Amutavi shared.
“We are in a society where sports is a career on its own, and we are seeing many women in sports doing wonderful things. Recently I was just watching a tennis tournament on Netflix, called ‘Breaking Point’ and I saw an African lady, a Tunisian lady, who is number two in the world in tennis,” she added.
Speaking about having children, Laventa Amutavi noted that it does not matter what their interests are, she will forever look to support them. She noted that they do not have to be invested in sports like Ferdinand Omanyala and herself.
She explained that parents should be open to having their children decided what they want to do rather than forcing them into things they are not interested in.
“It doesn’t matter if your child is talented or not, whatever they have passion for, let them do it, you just have to support them. For me, it doesn’t matter if they become sports people or not…what I want my kids to do is for them to understand what they want. That is why as early as now, we are not pressuring them into liking sports or not,” Laventa Amutavi said.
“We are just exposing them to different sports and when we tap into what they actually like, it is now when we help them acquire what they want. For example, my boy decides he doesn’t want to do any sports, he likes books and wants to be an architect. I will encourage him to do what he likes and expose him to architect concepts and everything that has to do with their interests.”
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