barriers

In Kwara, a Muslim-majority state in north-central Nigeria where religious traditions govern daily life, some young women are defying cultural expectations through football.

They have discovered the camaraderie, competitive spirit, and emotional journey of the sport, while facing disapproval from those who question its appropriateness for modestly dressed women.

When 17-year-old Maryam Muhammed heads to practise at the Model Queens Football Academy in Ilorin, she endures the intense heat — made more challenging by her hijab and leggings — and community criticism.

“They tell me I will not achieve anything. But I believe I will achieve something big,” she says, despite regularly encountering taunts on her way to training.

Though sometimes uncomfortable, maintaining modest dress while playing is non-negotiable for her.

“Sometimes it feels like I want to open the hijab, but I must not expose my hair,” she explained. “I have to put it on as a good Muslim.”

FIFA initially banned hijabs in 2007 on safety grounds, resulting in Iran’s women’s team being excluded from a 2012 Olympic qualifier. The restriction was eased in 2012 and fully lifted in 2014. Morocco’s Nouhaila Benzina made history as the first hijab-wearing player at a senior women’s World Cup in 2023.

Kehinde Muhammed, Maryam’s mother, has weathered criticism for supporting her daughter’s passion. “So many people discouraged me,” she admitted. “But I respect my children’s decisions. I support her and keep praying for her.”

She creates custom hijabs matching team jerseys, emphasising: “I counsel her that this is the normal way you are supposed to be dressed as a Muslim.”

Model Queens coach Muyhideen Abdulwahab works to change community perceptions. “We go out to meet parents, to tell them there are laws in place for modest dressing,” he said. “Despite that, some still say no.”

Nineteen-year-old team member Bashirat Omotosho balances her love for football with family responsibilities. She often misses training to help her mother sell puff puff, a fried dough snack, at their roadside stall to support the family.

“Training is often in the morning, but I have to be here,” she explained while serving customers, watching her teammates sometimes jog past during practice. “I cannot leave my mum — this is how I earn money.”

Titilayo Omotosho, Bashirat’s mother, initially opposed her daughter’s athletic ambitions.

“Why would a lady choose football?” she questioned.

Omotosho’s stance softened after her husband’s approval and seeing successful Muslim players like Nigeria star Asisat Oshoala. “Seeing other Muslim girls succeed, like Asisat, encouraged us to let her play,” she said, referencing the record six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year. Oshoala, who plays without a hijab, comes from Lagos in southwest Nigeria, where Islamic practices are less conservative.

According to local football administrator Ambali Abdulrazak, despite growing interest, female participation remains limited in Ilorin.

The Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) ranks among Africa’s strongest, dominated by southern clubs from Lagos and Port Harcourt, where infrastructure and social support are more established. Northern and central regions face cultural and religious barriers, though grassroots initiatives are expanding.

Nationwide, women’s football is gaining popularity, driven by the national team’s success, increased sponsorships, and development programmes. Since 2020, NWFL viewership has increased by 40 percent, with match attendance rising 35 percent in 2024, according to Nigerian media company iTelemedia, which monitors audience trends across local leagues.

During a recent training session, Muhammed and her teammates practised on a sandy school pitch as the sun set, their voices mingling with the muezzin’s call to prayer from a nearby mosque.

On August 29, Muhammed captained the Model Queens in a youth tournament final, which they lost. She high-fived teammates and celebrated as they received runners-up medals, but later cried alone in her room over the defeat.

Her family’s support and faith sustain her determination. “I really love this sport. I have a passion for it,” she said. “Since my parents support me, there is nothing stopping me. Football is my dream.”

GEORGE RUSSELL ignited chaos in a wild practice day at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Two red flags, a pit lane collision and a FIRE gave stewards a very busy Friday.

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FP1 started with the rear brakes of Alex Albon’s Williams catching fire in the sweltering heat of the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Team boss James Vowles later confirmed the brakes had reached temperatures of over 1000 degrees before Albon was forced to retire.

But Mercedes ace Russell then sparked more chaos in FP2 as his car went straight on into the barriers at Turn 16.

As he attempted the right hander he lost the rear before the snap correction sent him flying into the wall and prompting the first red flag of the session.

It was an incident labelled “weird” by the Briton over the team radio.

Liam Lawson followed suit not long after as he hit the wall in the run off of Turn 17.

That saw his front-left go flying down the track and the plank under his car grind along the floor as his Racing Bulls drive skidded to a halt at the pit lane entrance.

And following the restart, Charles Leclerc bizarrely smashed into McLaren‘s Lando Norris in the pit lane following an unsafe release from the Scuderia mechanics.

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Both have been summoned by race stewards over the incident, which is likely to result in some sort of penalty for the Ferrari driver.

A total of 22 minutes of the hour-long session were lost through the various incidents.

FP1 and FP2 were topped by Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri respectively.

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June 8 (UPI) — Pope Leo asked God to “open borders, break down walls and dispel hatred,” during Sunday mass with tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square Sunday.

The pontiff has been critical of nationalist political movements and the “exclusionary mindset” they convey, but did not name a specific country or government.

“There is no room for prejudice , for ‘security zones’ separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging in political nationalisms,” the pope said during the mass.

Leo added that the church “must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race.”

“People must move beyond our fear of those who are different,” he continued, and said the Holy Spirit “breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred.”

While the pontiff did not mention President Donald Trump by name, he has been critical of his administration and policies.

Prior to ascending to pope in May, Leo, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, routinely posted negative comments about Trump and vice-president JD Vance on social media. The Prevost X account was deactivated shortly after he became pope.

Prior to Leo, pope Francis, who died earlier this year, was also critical of Trump.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not a Christian,” Francis said about Trump when asked about him in 2016.

In an era where technological paradigms shift with geopolitical winds, where design thinking must account for cultural diplomacy, and where engineering solutions intersect with national security concerns, India faces an epistemic crisis in higher education. The disciplinary silos that have long characterized our academic institutions—compartmentalizing knowledge into business, technology, design, and social sciences—have become intellectual anachronisms. This essay argues not merely for incremental curriculum reform but for a fundamental reconceptualization of knowledge production and transmission across disciplines, with particular emphasis on geopolitical literacy as an intellectual cornerstone for students of all academic backgrounds.

The Epistemological Divide: Empirical Evidence

The data regarding interdisciplinary education in India reveals a stark reality that demands urgent intellectual attention:

• Among India’s premier technological institutions, only 4.3% offer substantive coursework in international relations or geopolitical analysis (IIT Council Report, 2024).
• Within design schools, a mere 2.7% incorporate geopolitical considerations into their curriculum despite the growing importance of cultural diplomacy in global aesthetics (Design Education Review, 2023).
• Computer science programs show particular deficiency, with 91% offering no coursework on the geopolitics of technology, despite India’s positioning in the global digital economy (National Association of Software Companies, 2024).
• Engineering students receive, on average, less than 3.5 credit hours of humanities education throughout their entire degree program (All India Council for Technical Education, 2024).

When juxtaposed against global benchmarks—where leading institutions mandate cross-disciplinary exposure—this disciplinary isolation represents not merely a pedagogical oversight but an intellectual impoverishment with profound implications for India’s future.

The segregation of knowledge into discrete disciplines reflects a Cartesian reductionism increasingly at odds with contemporary epistemology. The complex problems facing modern societies—from climate adaptation to artificial intelligence governance—exist in what philosopher Horst Rittel termed the realm of “wicked problems,” resistant to solutions derived from any single knowledge domain.

Consider these intellectual frameworks that demand cross-disciplinary integration:

1. Systems Theory Perspective: Complex adaptive systems that characterize global affairs cannot be understood through linear causal models typical of siloed education. As philosopher Edgar Morin argues, understanding complexity requires transcending disciplinary boundaries.
2. Epistemic Justice: The privileging of certain knowledge forms (technical, financial) over others (geopolitical, cultural) represents what philosopher Miranda Fricker identifies as “hermeneutical injustice”—denying students conceptual resources needed to interpret their reality.
3. Constructivist Learning Theory: Knowledge constructed through interdisciplinary engagement leads to cognitive frameworks better suited to navigating complexity, as educational theorist Jean Piaget established.
4. Critical Realism Philosophy: The stratified nature of reality (physical, biological, social, geopolitical) means that reduction to any single analytical level produces incomplete understanding—a perspective advanced by philosopher Roy Bhaskar.

NEP 2020: Potential and Contradictions

India’s National Education Policy 2020 ostensibly embraces interdisciplinary education, calling for “holistic and multidisciplinary education” as a foundational principle. Yet a critical analysis reveals significant contradictions between rhetoric and implementation mechanisms:

The policy states, “There will be no hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extracurricular activities, or between vocational and academic streams.”

However, structural implementations reveal persistent disciplinary segregation:

• Credit allocation systems still predominantly favor disciplinary depth over breadth.
• Faculty evaluation metrics continue to reward specialization over integration.
• Administrative structures maintain departmental silos instead of problem-focused organization.
• Funding mechanisms disproportionately support traditional disciplinary research.

What emerges is a form of what sociologist Pierre Bourdieu would term “symbolic violence”—the appearance of change while reproducing existing knowledge hierarchies. True interdisciplinary education requires not merely allowing elective courses but fundamentally restructuring the epistemological foundations of higher education.

Geopolitics as Foundational Knowledge

The argument for geopolitical literacy extends beyond traditional international relations frameworks. Geopolitics offers essential intellectual scaffolding for understanding the context in which all disciplines operate:

For Design Students

Design does not occur in a geopolitical vacuum. Consider:

• The emergence of “strategic design” as a field addressing complex social problems requires understanding of geopolitical forces.
• Cultural diplomacy increasingly employs design as soft power—87% of nations have invested in design-forward cultural initiatives (UNESCO Cultural Indicators Report, 2023).
• Supply chain aesthetics are shaped by geopolitical realities—the movement of materials, labor, and production reflects power dynamics that designers must navigate.
• Design futures work must account for geopolitical scenarios—42% of failed design innovations demonstrated ignorance of geopolitical constraints (Design Management Institute, 2024).

For Technology Students

The bifurcation of global technology ecosystems along geopolitical lines demands attention:

• Semiconductor supply chains have become explicitly geopolitical, with India’s positioning requiring strategic understanding—the $10 billion India Semiconductor Mission operates in a geopolitical context students must comprehend.
• Data sovereignty regulations reflect geopolitical tensions—76% of new technology regulations in India’s key export markets derive from geopolitical considerations (MEITY Analysis, 2023).
• AI ethics frameworks diverge along geopolitical lines, with 63% of major differences attributable to geopolitical positioning rather than technical considerations (AI Ethics Global Review, 2024).
• Technology standards-setting processes have become battlegrounds for national influence—participation requires diplomatic as well as technical expertise.

For Other Non-Social Science Fields

• Agriculture students: 71% of agricultural market disruptions in the past decade stemmed from geopolitical events rather than climate or technology factors.
• Medical students: Global health security increasingly operates as a function of geopolitical relationships—pandemic response coordination shows an 84% correlation with geopolitical alliance structures.
• Architecture students: Urban resilience planning now incorporates geopolitical risk assessment in 67% of major global architectural firms.

Reimagining Interdisciplinary Education

Meaningful interdisciplinary education must transcend the tokenism of isolated courses to embrace what philosopher Hannah Arendt termed “praxis”—reflective action informed by theoretical understanding. This requires

Structural Reforms

1. Epistemic Integration: Core courses should integrate knowledge across disciplines rather than merely adding electives—for example, “Geopolitics of Design” rather than “Design” plus “Geopolitics.”
2. Faculty Development: Create joint appointments across departments and invest in faculty capacity to teach across disciplinary boundaries.
3. Assessment Revolution: Move beyond discipline-specific metrics to evaluate students’ ability to synthesize knowledge across domains.
4. Institutional Architecture: Reorganize academic units around problems rather than disciplines—establishing centers for “Technology Governance” rather than separate computer science and political science departments.

Pedagogical Innovations

1. Wicked Problem Studios: Project-based learning focused on complex challenges requiring multiple knowledge domains
2. Simulation-Based Learning: Complex geopolitical simulations where students from different disciplines must collaborate to address scenarios
3. Embedded Fieldwork: Place students in contexts where disciplinary knowledge must be applied within geopolitical complexities.
4. Collaborative Research: Structure research initiatives requiring teams spanning disciplines.

The resistance to interdisciplinary education reflects not merely administrative convenience but deeper intellectual commitments to particular forms of knowledge production. As sociologist Thomas Kuhn demonstrated, paradigm shifts in knowledge structures face resistance from established practitioners. This resistance takes several forms:

1. Epistemic Hierarchy: The implicit ranking of knowledge types that privileges technical over contextual understanding
2. Disciplinary Identity: Faculty self-conception rooted in disciplinary expertise rather than problem-solving capacity
3. Measurement Fetishism: Overreliance on discipline-specific metrics that cannot capture interdisciplinary competence
4. Resource Competition: Zero-sum thinking about curriculum space and faculty resources

Beyond Employability

While much discourse around education reform focuses on employability, the argument for interdisciplinary geopolitical education runs deeper. At stake is what philosopher Martha Nussbaum identifies as the “capability for critical thinking”—the intellectual capacity to comprehend and engage with complex realities.

The segregation of knowledge domains impoverishes not merely professional competence but civic capacity. In a democracy increasingly facing complex, interconnected challenges, citizens require integrated understanding. This represents what political philosopher Michael Sandel terms “civic education”—preparation not merely for economic contribution but for meaningful participation in collective self-governance.

Empirical Evidence of Interdisciplinary Impact

The case for interdisciplinary education is not merely philosophical but empirically grounded:

• Teams comprising members with diverse disciplinary backgrounds demonstrate 43% higher problem-solving efficacy for complex challenges (Harvard Interdisciplinary Research Initiative, 2023).
• Organizations led by individuals with interdisciplinary education show 37% greater adaptive capacity during geopolitical disruptions (McKinsey Global Institute, 2024).
• Patents filed by teams with interdisciplinary composition show 28% higher citation impact and 41% greater commercial application (World Intellectual Property Organization, 2024).
• National innovation systems with higher rates of interdisciplinary collaboration demonstrate 23% faster response to complex crises (OECD Innovation Policy Review, 2023).

Beyond NEP 2020: A Radical Reimagining

While NEP 2020 provides rhetorical support for interdisciplinary education, implementation requires more fundamental reconceptualization. True interdisciplinary education demands:

1. Philosophical Reconciliation: Acknowledging that the fragmentation of knowledge is itself a historical construct rather than an epistemological necessity
2. Structural Transformation: Moving beyond departmental structures to problem-focused organization
3. Pedagogical Revolution: Replacing linear curriculum models with networked knowledge structures
4. Assessment Reconception: Developing evaluation frameworks that value synthesis and integration
5. Faculty Transformation: Recruiting and developing scholars capable of transcending disciplinary boundaries

The Intellectual Imperative

The argument for interdisciplinary geopolitical education transcends instrumental concerns about career preparation. What is at stake is nothing less than our capacity to comprehend and address the defining challenges of our era.

For India’s position in the global knowledge economy—and more fundamentally, for its democratic vitality—the integration of geopolitical understanding across disciplines represents not a curricular luxury but an intellectual necessity. The continued segregation of knowledge domains reflects not merely administrative convenience but an impoverished conception of education itself.

As philosopher John Dewey argued, education must prepare students not merely for the world as it exists but for creating the world that could be. In an era of profound geopolitical transformation, this preparation requires not the reinforcement of intellectual silos but their transcendence. The question is not whether design students, technology students, and others should be “allowed” to learn international relations—it is whether we can afford the intellectual impoverishment that results from preventing them from doing so.

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Speaking after the trade talks, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday: “China will also suspend and remove all of its non-monetary barriers. They’ve agreed to do that,” he said. “It’s going to take a while to paper it. You know, that’s not the easiest thing to paper,” he added.

In early April, China imposed rare earth export restrictions on the US as a major non-tariff countermeasure in response to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. The export controls affected seven critical minerals, on which the US heavily relies. These minerals are essential components in the manufacture of electric vehicles and electronic devices.

Trump’s remarks suggest that whether China will suspend or remove its export controls on these key minerals will be a central term in the negotiations. The removal or suspension of the controls could further bolster optimism surrounding a de-escalation of trade tensions.

On Monday, the world’s two largest economies reached an agreement to pause tariffs for 90 days. The US will reduce tariffs on China to 30% from 145%, while China will lower import levies on US goods to 10% from 125%.

Stock market rally loses steam

The broad-based market rally showed signs of retreat during Tuesday’s Asian session, indicating investor caution over the progress of US-China negotiations. Although both sides agreed to establish a mechanism for further discussions following the weekend’s talks, no specific dates have yet been set for future meetings.

US stock futures declined, pointing to a lower open. As of 4:50 am CEST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.38%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.47%. By contrast, European major index futures were more resilient, with the Euro Stoxx 600 slipping 0.17%, the DAX flat, and the FTSE 100 falling 0.23%.

Markets are awaiting further details of the agreement, particularly regarding China’s non-tariff countermeasures. Investors are also concerned about whether a comprehensive trade deal can be secured between the two nations after the 90-day pause.

“The critical issue from here is solidifying trade deals and ensuring the reduced tariffs don’t lapse after 90 days,” wrote Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com, Australia, in an email. He added that markets would also look to see whether the US can achieve trade deals with other partners. “The markets will also want to see the US maintain this momentum and nut out deals with its other trading partners. Should that happen, the recovery in equities and the dollar ought to continue,” he said.

Euro rebounds from month-low

The US dollar weakened slightly against other major G10 currencies during the early Asian session. The EUR/USD pair rebounded to above 1.11 after falling to as low as 1.1065 on Monday – its lowest since 10 April.

The euro was seen as a major haven asset in April as the trade war heightened fears of a global economic recession. The common currency surged against the greenback last month to its highest level since November 2021. However, the euro’s rally could reverse course if future US-China negotiations lead to further de-escalation of trade tensions.

Investors appear to be seeking bargains in US assets amid an easing of risk-off sentiment. Despite the trade war, the impact on the US economy is expected to remain limited thus far. The market sell-off has been driven more by deteriorating sentiment than by any materialised downturn.

Markets will also turn their attention to the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April, due for release on Wednesday. Sticky inflation may further drive up the dollar, thereby putting pressure on the euro. Markets expect the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates twice this year in response to tariff-driven inflationary risks. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is also expected to continue its rate-cutting cycle on economic grounds, albeit on a meeting-by-meeting basis.