In recent decades, we have seen an increase in girls and women’s inclusion in sport. In the Global South, in particular, girls’ inclusion in sport is often delivered by Sport for Development and Peace organisations (SDP). These organisations provide sports programming and educational components to marginalised youth. In this paper, we answer the question: to what extent does girls’ inclusion in SDP potentially break down gendered stereotypes and sensitise communities to the capabilities of girls and women? To do this, we conducted research with an SDP organisation in Colombia. In this manuscript, we explore the lives of three SDP participants, Lourdes, Daniela, and Yuliza, and one mother of female participants, Valery. We find that despite their personal, often risky, actions of pushing back against community members’ expectations of femininity, they continue to be constrained by broader social structures at play. Disappointingly, their actions are not disruptive enough to change the status quo and they demonstrate a reproduction of marginalisation.
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