SCRAPPING THE STEROTYPES : THIS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

You're a woman right, how are you into sports? Don't play in the sun, your face will turn black. Who cares about women's sports? Lifting too much weight will make you look manly. I'm sure all female athletes have heard at least one of these comments, and as an athlete myself, I can assure you I have. When I hear such orthodox comments, my blood boils, and it being Woman's Day just a few days ago, I just wanted to address what women in sports had to deal with in the earlier days and still do today.

It's always been like this, not just in India but around the world, and it's even shown in movies, with men making fun of or dismissing women who participate in sports. You know, this trend of women not being into sports started way back, and to give you a real-life example, it wasn't until 1967 during the Boston marathon, where women were prohibited to run and compete against a guy, but this rule was changed by Kathrine Switzer who broke the rule and ran in the marathon but when she did so it triggered anger in one of the organizers and while she was running he assaulted her by attempting to tear off her bib.

She said, I quote :

"I knew if I quit, nobody would ever believe that women had the capability to run 26-plus miles. If I quit, everyone would think it was a publicity stunt. If I quit, women's sports would be set back, way back, instead of forward. I'd never run Boston if I gave up. If I gave up, Jock Semple and others like him would win. My fear and humiliation turned to anger".

— Kathrine Switzer

It's strong women like her who have brought about a change in the number of women competing in sports today, if it weren't for women like her, who knows if we would still be stuck in the same mindset and cycle of men dominating the sports industry. It's such a proud thing to say, that the participation of women in the 2020 Olympics was more or nearly equal to that of men, for example, the percent of women competing from India was 44% and that of men was 56% and in US the percent of women competing was 54% and men was 46% so many countries had more women competing this time, in that sense the global progress of women in sports has reached a whole new level and this is only because of the grit and persistence of female athletes and also because of the support of many sports and corporate organizations.

However, being an athlete and a part of the sports ecosystem, I have witnessed many commoners, coaches, and regrettably parents and relatives making comments about female athletes, and here are a few real-life examples that have occurred to some of my friends.

Body shaming : One of the most common issues that female athletes face on a daily basis . I've seen this happen not only to me, but also to many of my teammates here's one of the incidents - Gymnastics, diving, and swimming are examples of sports where an athlete's attire is a costume/leotard, so they are bound to show more skin than athletes in other sports. Now, as a former gymnast I've seen this a couple of times in training. I was at practice one day, just talking to my teammates and then the head coach and founder of our gymnastics Centre came that day, and he has a bad habit of comparing athlete's physiques to what he thinks is perfect to him so, he called one of my teammates who was only about 11-12 years old at the time, and he told her how she had gained fat from her stomach and how that did not look good through her leotard , then he started to compare her physique and started to compare it with other girls there and told her to lose weight, imagine telling a 11 year old girl this. I mean how cruel he must have been to even think of this ? This is just one of many cases where he has done this to children and they have been afraid to tell anyone, not even their parents. Many children can develop body dysmorphia as a result of hearing and being insulted in this manner, which can lead to anxiety, eating disorders, and a variety of other problems. Such comments can have a negative impact on an athlete's performance as well as their mental health, which is a major issue that many athletes face on a daily basis. In fact, when I started lifting weights and training more, I began to gain more muscle, and I've had many people tell me how muscular and manly I look, which honestly didn't bother me but these are instances where people need to be more supportive of female athletes and abandon that mindset that says, women are supposed to be gentle, fragile, and can't have muscles.... These are some of the things we need to change on a global scale and once we do so, the positive impact on their performance will be unimaginable.

Sexualization and abuse: I've heard and seen it so many times in the news about female athletes being sexualized In their respective sports, I mean, do girls have to be sexualized just because they play a sport? When a male participates in a sport, he is not sexualized; why is this disparity? Female athletes, unlike male athletes, do not have the luxury of being portrayed primarily as performance athletes, as coverage of their beauty and sex appeal frequently overshadows highlights of their on-field accomplishments. According to one of the reports I read, 40% of professional female athletes have experienced gender discrimination, with 30% experiencing sexual harassment from male colleagues. You know if y'all have ever noticed, the media coverage of female athletes always targets women saying things like , 'older' and 'married' while they call men, 'fast' and 'strong' . In fact, I've heard of many female athletes being sexually abused by their male coaches or even teammates in my sport .This is also one of the most heartbreaking things that female athletes, particularly those at the grassroot levels and even international levels have to endure, and it must be stopped immediately.

These are just a few things that I have mentioned, as a female athlete I have seen and experienced many other things, but here are a few ways that I believe female athletes can gain the same respect and level as men, as well as progress and reach higher growth rates in the sports industry :

More media coverage : When it comes to watching sports, majority of the sports watched are male sports. Women's sports, particularly in India, are rarely watched, and if they are, it is only women's cricket. According to reports, despite the fact that 40% of women participate in sports, only 6-8% of women are covered by the media. If women had more media coverage, more people would watch them play and they would gain more followers and support. However, only men receive more media coverage, and many people believe that women's sports are not as entertaining as men's sports and lack of media coverage is the biggest reason for this misconception.

More acceptance at the grass root level : It all starts at the grassroot level, where girls are forced to stay at home and help with household chores while boys play outside with their friends. If schools encouraged girls to participate in sports and held camps and activities for young girls, it would have a significant impact. Girls in villages are told by their parents and relatives that sports are only for boys and that they should not play with boys in school; such beliefs instilled in them at such a young age create mental barriers to participating in sports. Because people at the grassroot level do not have as much exposure, schools should host informative meetings for parents to understand how sports are played by both genders and how they can encourage their daughters to participate in sports.

Equal pay for men and women : I'm sure we've all heard this point before, but there is an urgent need for it. We all know that in most sports, men are paid more than women worldwide, and this is something that must change. Women athletes must be paid in proportion to what men athletes are paid. In India, one of the most significant milestones for female athletes has undoubtedly been the recent female cricket bidding, where the bidding went in crores for the first time in any sport in India, with the most expensive athlete Smriti Mandhana being sold to RCB for 3.4 crore, which is huge, and there were also a couple of other cricketers who were sold in crores as well. This is huge because the bidding of the women cricketers was very close to what men cricketers are usually paid in India. So, if there is more funding and pay in other sports, the number of female athletes and competitors will increase because it will provide them and their parents with the assurance of a stable income coming in and that their hard work will be rewarded.

These are a few ideas that if pursued, could help female athletes not only in India but around the world progress faster, gain the same level of respect as men, and earn their place in this male dominant sports industry.

So, on this year's International Women's Day, I'd like to thank all of the female athletes out there for being so strong and making the country proud every day by breaking stereotypes and fighting for their rights. The only reason India has made such strides in women's sports is due to the determination and perseverance of all the female athletes who have paved the way for future young girls to make their country proud.

Here's a quote that all women athletes should remember :

"...on this International Women's Day, please allow me to share what I've learned . You don't need to be "one of the guys." You are brave, strong, and destined to lead. Own it.”

- Tammy Duckworth's

What are your thoughts on this week's blog? How would you handle the problems that we face on a daily basis if you were a female athlete? let me know in the comments section below.