Playing like a woman

How many women sportsperson we have in our highly populated country? In a country where women form half of the population, the representation of women in sports shows a shameful ratio.  It might be termed as the lack of sports culture in our society or the conservative- mindset sprouted idea. The problem arises with the separation of public and private spheres. Men work out, they can go around merry-making, play, and waste their time endlessly and nobody questions them. But when a woman does the same thing she is called names. Because if it is a woman she has to look after the home and her family, anything she does apart from this is mere nuisance. We might have moved ahead and put on the counterpane of modernity but this mindset remains alive somewhere or the other in our brain and waits for the correct moment to make an entry publically.

Women have never been active in sports. One might say that women themselves do not show any interest in games or sports and they prefer other things more. But with this argument shall we believe that men are born with an interest for sports. Their interest is created. Nothing is born with a child. A child is molded in a particular form by parents. Men are always encouraged to participate in sports and roam around but unfortunately the same is not with woman. The problem with us is that we have firmly accepted that so and so qualities are associated with men and so and so with women. Any child which does not follow these prevalent terms is called abnormal. Why women can’t be supported to play and play more. Will it lessen their womanly qualities or is the male clan scared that they might have a competition. It might be possible that men’s chauvinism may be at stake and they don’t want to lose their superiority. This senseless belief that men’s superiority can’t be questioned and women have to act subservient to them is highly detestable. Even if few parents do not discriminate and encourage their girl child to make a career in sports, the facilities available are so limited and scarce enough to shake one’s determination to go ahead with sports as a career. Sports are not introduced at the primary level of schooling until the child is not studying at some good public school and these schools are affordable only for few people in the society. The majority of the population remains deprived of this and they send their kids to government school. These schools run by government do not provide basic education and food, so the sports do not come as a question. The child passes the high school without any firsthand experience of any kind of sports. And then we blame on the lack of interest.

We all had seen the movie ‘chak de india”. It correctly showed all the problems a woman has to face and all the obstacles which come in her way if she wants to pursue sports as a career. Nobody provides the facilities required. The government is not interested in a woman’s cricket team or a hockey team. All they care about is men’s teams especially cricket. But that is a totally different story about cricket getting all the importance at the expense of other games. Few days ago India hosted women’s cricket world cup. And it got nearly nil media coverage. When cricket world cup men’s is hosted, it becomes the biggest news. We welcome it with great pomp and show. It is like celebrating a festival. Everyday there is some piece of news about it in the newspaper. A whole class of intellectual section comes up and starts writing about the significance of this religion and its effects. The whole session of celebration does not happen with the women’s world cup. If we leave the cricket and switch to other games the condition is more or less similar.

Then there are people who mock, who tease, and who make obscene gestures at women who go out to play. This whole group of nincompoops does not terminate their activity. Their tiny brain praises them for this shameful activity. Sports are no different for women from other fields where men have always dominated. There are numerous struggles and hindrances which come in their way. But we have to keep moving and fighting because the reward is not so great without the struggle involved.