Maternity blind spot in Bangladesh cricket

When former Bangladesh pacer Suraiya Azmin emailed Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on May 9 to request paid maternity leave, she received no response.

After giving birth in August, she found herself dropped from the national contract list, while her leave request and unpaid salary remained unresolved.

Suraiya’s experience is not an isolated case.

Her experience exposes a wider gap in Bangladesh women’s cricket: the lack of a formal maternity policy to protect players’ income, contracts and prospects of returning to the game.

Former Bangladesh batter Sanjida Islam Moyna, who played 16 Women’s ODIs and 54 T20Is between 2012 and 2020, married first-class cricketer Mim Mosaddek in 2020, continued playing domestically until 2024 and gave birth in 2025. She has since stepped away from the game to raise her child.

Sanjida believes assumptions about marriage and motherhood shape how officials and selectors view women players. Some cricketers delay marriage to prolong their careers, while others conceal their marital status.

“In the BCB's system, there is a stigma against married players. Officials and selectors assume that once a female player marries or has a child, she won't play long, viewing further investment in her as a waste of time,” Sanjida said.

She believes proper maternity support would allow women to continue playing much longer after marriage and childbirth. Sanjida recently interviewed for a women’s divisional coaching position but was not selected, for reasons that remain unclear.

In the BCB's system, there is a stigma against married players. Officials and selectors assume that once a female player marries or has a child, she won't play long, viewing further investment in her as a waste of time.

Sanjida Islam Moyna

Suraiya’s experience reflects the same assumptions about marriage and motherhood. “Once a player gets married or reaches a certain age, people assume she won't play anymore. And if she has a baby, then playing again is completely out of the question.”

The board’s silence also affected her willingness to continue. “If I saw they had responded positively, if my willingness for return was 60 percent it would have increased to 100 percent,” she said. Although encouraged by her husband to seek leave, she felt the board had failed to value her. She last played for Gulshan Youth Club in the 2025 Dhaka Premier Division Women’s Cricket League.

Former national cricketer and international umpire Sathira Jakir Jessy also struggled to balance motherhood and cricket. “Even when I got married, I was the vice-captain of the national team, and I had a feeling that I might not be able to continue for long. I continued playing after becoming a mother, but it wasn’t easy at all.

“Many are still afraid of having a baby because they feel it could bring their careers to an end."

She added, “Even at the stage I am at now, I think twice about having another baby because I wonder whether BCB would support me during that time, allowing me to return to the level of umpiring I have reached."

Many are still afraid of having a baby because they feel it could bring their careers to an end.

Sathira Jakir Jessy

LESSONS FROM ABROAD

On June 22, International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced Return to Play Post-Pregnancy Guidelines for female cricketers. Its six stages -- Ready, Review, Restore, Recondition, Return and Refine -- cover recovery, medical assessments, gradual training and monitoring. The guidelines help member boards develop policies but do not guarantee paid leave.

Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket provide paid maternity leave to contracted players, while Pakistan introduced a Parental Support Policy in 2021. A year later, Bismah Maroof captained Pakistan at the World Cup, six months after giving birth, with her child and a support person.

Former Bangladesh player and current Qatar women’s team head coach Fatema Tuz Jahara, who has worked in Australia and China, said the contrast was stark. In Australia, she said, maternity leave is fully paid, with board-supervised medical care and health and fitness assessments before a player returns.

“In our country, when they get contracted as national players, [they] rely on that salary to support not just themselves but their entire family. So when pregnancy comes up, she has to think ten times.” she said.

“That's why our female players get married very late… [and] cannot think long-term about family life or pregnancy during their active playing careers, because there is no security provided in our country. When it comes to protecting women, economically or socially, we are far behind compared to other countries."

WHAT BCB SAYS

BCB Women’s Wing chairman Rafiqul Islam Babu said the board would follow ICC guidelines. “In the future, anyone who becomes pregnant or takes maternity leave will certainly be granted leave, and we will follow ICC’s policy in this regard,” he said, adding that he did not know why a guideline had not been introduced by this time.

Asked about Suraiya’s unpaid salary, leave and contract, Babu said her dues would be paid soon. “Everything is under process."

BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury acknowledged the absence of a formal maternity policy. “These matters are being addressed on a case-by-case basis.

“The POSH [Prevention of Sexual Harassment] Policy and the Safeguarding Policy have already been introduced,” he added. “As for the other issues, we will implement the other policies as soon as possible.”

As it stands, BCB has no maternity policy in place, despite pledging to follow ICC guidelines and address outstanding payments. A policy must clarify whether leave is paid, how contracts are protected and what support players receive when returning to competition.

The POSH [Prevention of Sexual Harassment] Policy and the Safeguarding Policy have already been introduced,” he added. “As for the other issues, we will implement the other policies as soon as possible.

BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury

Until such a policy is introduced, women cricketers will continue to face uncertainty over whether motherhood and a sustained career can coexist.