Opinion A World Cup victory, and a new story of and for India’s women

After the hard-won triumph of the Indian women’s cricket team this Sunday, someone somewhere is picking up her baton, another, her stethoscope or laptop or rolling pin or cricket bat — and breathing in air that is now fragrant with hope

This World Cup victory has the potential to change something very fundamental about perceptions, conventions, notions, identities, the self, the being, the nation, the world, and society

November 5, 2025 05:27 PM IST First published on: Nov 5, 2025 at 05:27 PM IST

Written by Malvika Sharad

Now, we celebrate standing up, running freely with all our heart. Now, we celebrate believing in ourselves.

The Indian women’s cricket team has won the champions’ trophy in the ICC Women’s World Cup, and we feel to our bones the feminine energy that flows from and through this victory. When those who are usually silenced, unseen and overlooked speak through their craft, register with their skill and impress with their strength, there is only the uproar of celebration all around.

The story of women, especially those in sports, is being rewritten with a fresh perspective and context after this victory, for it is only in moments like these that the world will admit our abilities. The burden of “proving our worth” weighs heavy, but we don’t mind the bargain that has come with this World Cup.
Not much was ever expected of women playing cricket; it was okay as long as it was a friendly girls-versus-boys match in school or college, maybe even gully cricket. But this World Cup victory has the potential to change something very fundamental about perceptions, conventions, notions, identities, the self, the being, the nation, the world, and society.

Also Read | Jemimah Rodrigues's real victory is beyond the field

When Jemimah Rodrigues shared her fears and vulnerabilities, every woman’s heart knew what she was talking about. We too waited with bated breath for victory. We wondered: Should we even begin to root for them at the dinner table or just let the subject evaporate with the pressure cooker’s whistle?

And just as the day wrapped up on November 2, Facebook and Instagram feeds brought in updates that made every father, brother and husband stop for a little longer than usual. Here we are today, quiet yet again — but today the silence is a song. A victory song everyone is humming along, as some of us sing in unison.

As the November night sky breaks into dawn for a brighter tomorrow, someone somewhere is picking up her baton, another, her stethoscope or laptop or rolling pin or cricket bat — and breathing in air that is now fragrant with hope.

The writer works in the office of the chairperson at Babu Banarasi University, Lucknow

# ICC Women's World Cup