Sports even in 2016 is considered to be a field associated with men and masculinity and although women take part in major sports tournaments across the world, they are only seen as playing the supporting role in a blockbuster movie. The protagonists of any major sports event are always considered to be men, have no doubt in mind, especially in INDIAN context.
Whenever we talk about sport, say cricket, the heroes of the game be it (Virat) Kohli or (Rohit) Sharma or (MS) Dhoni would come to our mind more often than not and we forget the heroines of the game and hence Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj are not that much household names as they should be? When two people are playing the same sport for the same nation at the same level why is it that one is watched and liked by spectators more than the other? There is no scope for calling it a coincidence because the same is the story of every other sport in India.
The story does not end here. There is a wide gap in the income of the players of the same sport for the same nation but different genders. There is no comparison at all. The reason cited for this inequality of pay by members of the board concerned or institution is that woman sports in general is able to attract less spectators and thereby lesser revenues and that allows them with no other options than to cut the wages of the players. A lot of credit goes to the media for this trend, however, even when media coverage has increased, the spectatorship has remained dramatically low compared to men’s sports.
Intensity is what is lacking in women’s sports. Accepting the fact that there are physical differences in which a man athlete’s body differs from a woman athlete’s body doesn’t solve the problems for us. Be it pace, be it power, be it stamina, be it athleticism men’s sport are a long long way ahead than women’s sport in all these aspects. And therefore, because women’s sports are less intense and less competitive far less people turn up to watch the match or even tune into the Television Channels.
One of the key reasons I feel is that since sports from its origin has been male dominated, the parameters that are used for measuring a sports performance is one that suits male performers. For example, all the parameters, be it power, pace etc. are suitable to male performers. For the women to produce an intense competition based on parameters favoring men is a little unfair on their part. Had the parameters been favoring women for instance, say flexibility or grace, then certainly the sports would have been comprehended and understood in an entirely different way.
A sport like gymnastics therefore has outstanding women players; players that surpass even the best of men from that sport because of the parameters. At the moment, asking for equal pay for women will be too much but society needs to embrace its women sportspersons and acknowledge that they are also the STARS and gone are the days when women were just considered to be the mistress of domesticity. For when the entire male contingent disappoints, there is amidst that disappointment someone like PV Sindhu, or Sakshi Malik who makes our nation proud. We must not be hindrances in producing more of women sportspersons intentionally or unintentionally.
