The Guardian

Be a sport: games coaches teach boys how to be better men

Cricket and rugby are being used as a way of helping boys develop healthy notions of masculinity
Boys in Bihar learn how to play it straight Photograph: Population Council

On a small cricket field in a dusty village in India’s east, groups of boys run between wickets, shouting at each other in the searing heat. When practice is over they put down their bats and fall silent as they listen to a very different form of instruction.

“I saw a guy harassing a girl on the street yesterday,” one player says solemnly. “Have you seen this too? What did you do to stop it?”

The boys share their experiences. When Manish Sharma, 20, told his teammates

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