I recently read a headline that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it has grown to the largest gender equal sporting event in the world. The irony is that the representation of women on the IOC itself has lagged behind its target of a minimum 20% presence of women on the committee.
Women were first permitted to compete in an Olympic sport only a century ago, when Paris first hosted the Games. This year at the Paris Olympic 2024, there will be 5,250 women and just as many men participating. Some sports are uniquely for women, others are contested by both sexes, while some older sports (39 to be exact) remain exclusively for men only. This marks a significant milestone for women in sports. What is interesting to note is that India’s 46 women athletes will make up 41% of the squad, a slight dip from the 53 of 120 (44%) from Tokyo.
Historically, female athletes have been treated, and looked upon differently from their male counterparts. For example, in 2012, the Japan women’s national soccer team travelled to the Games in economy class, while the men’s team travelled in business class. The media also doesn’t cover women sports as much as it does men’s games. We see this happening close to home in India. Though culturally the push to sports, education, or employment is never the first “choice” for an Indian women. The “choice” is made for her by her family (parents or in-laws or husband himself). She is relegated only to home making and child rearing. However, PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Mary Kom, Sania Mirza, Mirabai Chanu, Saina Nehwal, Geeta Phogat, Babita Phogat, Deepika Kumari, Dipa Karmarkar, Mitali Raj,Jhulan Goswani,Anju Bobby George, Hima Das, Dutee Chand, Karnam Malleshwari and Bula Chowdhary, all represent the Indian woman’s determination to break the glass ceiling and succeed in their respective fields while inspiring future female generations to pursue their dreams fearlessly.
Despite these advancements, the world still has a long way to go towards complete gender equality. While the current gap is 68.6% closed, it is estimated to take another 131 years to reach full parity. In India, this might take longer.
The other question that haunts me while we see that equality of females in all areas of life (not just sport) has a long way to go, there seems to be a forced step back with the conversation to place transgender women/girls into the same category as women. The participation of transgender people in competitive sports, a traditionally sex-segregated institution, is a controversial issue, especially the inclusion of transgender women and girls in women’s sports.
Making the actual parity a blurred line. A man who identifies himself as a women has every right to respect and life opportunities, however can this be at the cost of women who have already been struggling for centuries for their place in the sun. The law in India recognizes a third gender and so should there not also be a specific sports quota and participation for the third gender in sports rather than at the cost of female participation. The same applies to all areas of work and life. Both the genders are discriminated and marginalized. And both need to be identified and given equal opportunities as the male gender in all fields. It would be fantastic one day soon to read that the IOC has made it a point to also increase participation, inclusion and parity of the third gender at the Games.
