Opinion Do we value our women athletes only when they are winning medals?
Until institutions respond to allegations of sexual harassment and assault with the same seriousness with which they celebrate women's achievements, misogyny will continue to thrive
Police cracked down on the wrestlers as they marched to Parliament in May 2023 Sometimes, public rage is subdued simply because the horror and humiliation of an incident aren’t dramatic enough to get a whole nation outraged overnight. Even when the fight for justice comes from Olympian wrestlers from Haryana, who have broken every stereotype and have become national icons. Their fight falls short when they challenge the male fountainhead of power in their field, in this case the then BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
A Delhi court recently acquitted Singh of all charges related to sexual harassment, brought forward by women wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat. The broader issue is not the court’s verdict. It is the message that is sent out by the entire episode. It is about asking what the costs are for survivors for speaking out against powerful men. Sexual harassment rarely reaches a moral, social or legal resolution because it almost always pits an individual’s testimony against entrenched structures of power. It often unfolds in private spaces, through coercion, intimidation, innuendo and abuse of authority.
In this case, the messaging is all the more important because it concerns women from some of the most backward pockets of Haryana, who became national icons by virtue of their sport and by defying patriarchal social mores. The country watched as the police heavily cracked down on them, dragging them on the pavement and forcibly detaining them as they tried to march towards Parliament. Contrast that with the celebratory scenes of Singh being feted on a throne-like chair once he was acquitted, where he cried victimhood and conspiracy. Even though male colleagues like Bajrang Punia, Satyawart Kadian and Somvir Rathee supported them, it was still advantage Singh.
It makes you wonder whether these women wrestlers really have the power to be heard. Reams may be written about how these wrestlers broke through prejudice and took men head-on in the akhara, but had they not been medal winners and money spinners, their true grit may not have attracted male encouragement or endorsement.
Mahavir Singh Phogat may have been the pathbreaker for training his daughters, but let’s not forget that part of that mission was about his own unfulfilled dream of winning an international gold medal. The deep-set patriarchy in Haryana “allowed” female participation simply because it was incentivised at every stage, be it as part of the Beti Bachao scheme, a government job, brand ambassadorship and monetary grants. Female participation is often accepted when it gives returns, not necessarily because patriarchy has been dismantled.
Perhaps that’s why the sexual harassment charges against Singh were so easily dismissed by so many for so long. Time and again, the Supreme Court has had to caution lower courts against trivialising such complaints. Yet, the burden of proof continues to rest disproportionately on women, who are asked to explain why they remained silent, continued working under the accused or did not immediately report the abuse.
The wrestlers’ protest resonated precisely because these women exposed how institutions close ranks when those in charge are challenged, and how power overrides testimony. Until institutions respond to allegations with the same seriousness with which they celebrate women’s achievements, misogyny will continue to thrive in a country which worships the sacred feminine but doesn’t believe women deserve to manifest it.
The writer is senior associate editor, The Indian Express. rinku.ghosh@expressindia.com
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