How is Asian rugby celebrating IWD 2022?

We look at how Asian rugby is celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022. Many of the Unions are uniting under the banner of #BreakTheBias this year.

We asked you to let us know about the events that are happening in the region and this is what we know so far:

Feature Photo Credit: HKRU

Singapore Rugby Union – International Women’s Day 2022

The SRU have said they have “a huge week ahead in the lead up to International Womens Day 2022” and will be bringing you #BreakTheBias story from women within the Singapore Rugby Community they have said across their social channels. They are sharing a number of personal stories on their Facebook page.

This will culminate in an IWD Panel Facebook page discussion at 7 pm (local time) on March 8, 2022. They have said “four very special guests” will be involved, and these will be:

• Shiray Kaka – NZ Black Ferns 7s Rugby Olympic gold medal winner
• Nur Yasli – Singapore Olympic powerlifter
• Ong Pei Yi – Singapore Womens 7s rugby captain
• Diviya GK – Singapore Women’s cricket player

The Singapore Rugby Union have also asked to hear from the wider female rugby community and the barriers they have had to overcome to play or support the game.

Image Credit: SRU

Philippines Rugby Football Union – Celebrating IWD 2022

The PRFU will be speaking hosting a Facebook Live forum on International Women’s Day on Tuesday, 8th of March 2022,  at 7 pm (PH time).

The Facebook Live forum will also feature the PRFU Unstoppables, Grassroots to Global Forum Ambassadors, and Philippine Volcanoes with 3 special international guests lined up:

• The first confirmed social guest is Samantha Scott Feausi. She was working with the Hong Kong Rugby Union until the end of 2021 and held the roles of Women’s Rugby Development Manager and Head of Women’s Rugby Development when she left the Union due to their recent financial cutbacks. Samantha was also a Hong Kong Rugby Union national player from 1999 to 2013 & was the team captain for the 7s and 15s National Teams, as well a player and captain for Valley Women’s Rugby Club Premiership and has won multiple league and grand championships. She is now in the role of Chief Operating Officer of Valley RFC.
• Christabelle Lim was a Singapore Rugby national player from 2010 to 2018 & has played in the Asian Games in 2014 & 2018. She won the SRU Referee of the Year in her local referee community in 2019/20 season and has been part of the Asia Rugby Match Officials Panel since 2019. Christabelle served as Assistant Match Official in 2019 HSBC Women’s Sevens in Japan, HSBC Men’s Sevens in Singapore, and in 2021 HSBC Men’s and Women’s Sevens in Dubai World Rugby Sevens.
• Ada Milby is a national Philippines player since 2012 and has captained both the 7s and 15s teams. She has been the  PRFU’s secretary-general, head of development for grassroots rugby in the country and became a member of the Asia Rugby Executive Committee and chairperson for Women’s Rugby Commission for Asia Rugby. Ada was the first first female member of the World Rugby Council and was named in Rugby World Magazine’s Top 50 Most Influential People in Rugby and is currently PRFU president.

No Woman No Try – Womens Rugby Documentary

Amazon Prime Video is releasing the documentary “No Woman No Try” exclusively on Prime Video worldwide, on 25 March 2022.

Prime Video says the film is “an honest and confronting documentary about the current status of gender, ethnicity and sexual equality within women’s rugby”. The video appears as if it will be a very UK-focused documentary but some of those involved, among others in the production, are:

• Shaunagh Brown – English and Harlequins rugby union player.
• Zainab Alema – Rugby player in England and founder of rugby charity Studs In The Mud, award-winner for encouraging black and Muslim women and girls to play rugby.
• Stefania Evans – Worcester Warriors player and CEO and Founder of Ruggette RFC, winner of Girls Rugby Club’s ‘Female Rugby Brand of the Year’ award.
• Sue Anstiss, MBE – Co-founder of the Women’s Sport Collective.
• Ugo Monye – Former England rugby union player, and media pundit.

Victoria Rush, director of No Woman No Try said: “The #IAmEnough movement in 2020 resonated with women all over the world, uniting people across the rugby community and giving women’s rugby her voice. The movement was an incredible moment, but just that. Social media doesn’t make changes on its own.

I developed No Woman No Try to bridge the gap between men’s and women’s sport in the media, to inspire further generations of women and girls to know the sports landscape theirs too. Because if you can’t see it you can’t be it.”

You can read more about how IWD was celebrated in 2021 in Asian rugby circles.

If your rugby club, team, or Union in Asia is celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022, please let us know and we will add it to the list of events!

Women’s Rugby

• Sally Horrox is appointed as Director of Women’s Rugby.
• Women’s 15s WXV Global Rugby Competition 2023.
• Izzy Cerullo – Growth of Women’s Rugby.
• Rugby World Cup 2021: New Zealand.