Saina Nehwal
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Paper-15. Module-4 Women & Sports in India-An Overview. I. (A) Personal Details Role Name Affiliation Principal Prof. Sumita Allahabad University, Investigator Parmar Allahabad Paper Dr. Sabu CWDS, New Delhi Coordinator George & Centre for Women’s Dr. Studies, Allahabad Kumudini University-Associate Pati Content Prof. Lakshmibai National Writer/Author Jayashree Institute of Physical (CW) Acharya Education, Gwalior Content Prof. Sumita Allahabad University, Reviewer (CR) Parmar Allahabad Language Editor Dr. Sonal Consultant Editor (LE) Parmar (B) Description of Module Items Description of Module Subject Name Women’s Studies Paper Name The Stories the States Tell Module Name/ Women & Sports in India- Title An Overview 1 Module ID Paper-15. Module-4 Pre-requisites The Reader is expected to have some knowledge of sport and the importance of sport in the life of women Objectives To make the reader understand the status of women participating in sports , view of the society , and ways and means to improve the sport culture among Indian women Keywords Sports Women, Feminine female, Masculine female, Gender bias Women Sport in India- An Overview Introduction Sport, Society and Women “Women in Sports” has been a topic virtually ignored by scholars and others, thus female sport participation has been a relatively undeveloped area of research more so for Indian women athletes. Sex-role stereotyping, male research bias and the reward structure of society have contributed to this neglect. 2 Sport in India is yet to reach its peak. The Mughals ruled India for centuries, the Britishers for another one and a half-century. It was only after 1947, when we achieved independence that we started developing as a modern nation, with special rights to half of its citizens namely women. Indian women are still trying to establish their own identity. Women in India are still unable to take a stand for themselves. Times are changing and improving but there is still a lot to be achieved. Sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. In most of the societies in the world, men have dominated as decision makers within families as well as in various public spaces and it’s the same in India. The dearth of information becomes almost desperate when one seeks to investigate women’s sports before the emergence of Greek civilization. Historical Perspective of Women Sport Participation The history of sports in India dates back to the Vedic era. Physical culture in ancient India was fuelled by religious rights. The mantra in the Atharvaveda, says, "Duty is in my right hand and the fruits of victory in my left." In terms of an ideal, these words hold the same sentiments as the traditional Olympic Oath: "For the Honour of my Country and the Glory of Sport." Surveying the historical record in which man have traditionally figured as movers and shakers while women have often been dismissed with a few remarks about the domestic sphere, feminist scholars speak of women’s “invisibility”. 3 “The documentary evidence for the lives of women in antiquity is fragmentary and difficult to interpret” says Guttmann (1991). The unquestioned presumption of the absolute physical inferiority of girls and women relative to boys and men has been used as methods of restricting female participation in many sports. Several myths and ill-founded arguments proposed for limiting athletic activity are also being used with respect to occupational activity. “The practice of physical education and sport is a fundamental right for all.” —UNESCO International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, article 1 Sport and physical activity were first specifically recognized as a human right in the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, adopted in 1978 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Charter states: “One of the essential conditions for the effective exercise of human rights is that everyone should be free to develop and preserve his or her physical, intellectual, and moral powers, and that access to physical education and sport should consequently be assured and guaranteed for all human beings.” Evolution of women and sport The first Olympic Games of the modern era in 1896 were not open to women. But since this time, the participation of women in the Olympic Movement at all levels has changed considerably: it fully represents the values of our modern society worldwide. 4 This evolution has taken place within a favourable social, political and cultural framework in which women's issues started to be addressed, and led to major action and regulations that recognized and defended women's rights at all levels of society. Women competed for the first time at the 1900 Games in Paris. Of a total of 997 athletes, 22 women competed in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf. Access to sport was included in international instruments and documents that the United Nations and other institutions approved and promoted in the 1970s and 1980s. Sport and physical activities have been recognized as having a positive impact on health and as being a tool to eliminate socially constructed gender stereotypes. The Olympic Movement and the sports community at large have followed this movement and progressively undertaken initiatives to allow broader participation by women in sports in general. More sports and disciplines have been opened up to women at all levels and in most countries of the world. In the last 20 years especially, the IOC has pressed for the women's programme at the Olympic Games to be enlarged, in cooperation with the respective International Sports Federations (IFs) and the Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs). This development has been further reinforced by the IOC's decision that all sports seeking inclusion in the programme must include women's events. The IOC also started to work on women's involvement at leadership level in sport in 1981, under the initiative of former President Juan Antonio 5 Samaranch, who wanted to have women co-opted as IOC members. As a result, 24 members out of 107 are women. The Olympic Charter was amended to include, for the first time in history, an explicit reference to the need for work in this area: "The IOC encourages and supports the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures, with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women." Rule 2, paragraph 7, Olympic Charter in force as from 07.07.2007 Following International Women’s Day on 8 March, Anita DeFrantz, Chairwoman of the IOC’s Women and Sport Commission and an IOC member, spoke at the 57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations headquarters earlier this week to explain the role of sport in the vitally important effort to eliminate and prevent violence against women and girls in the world. “Violence against women and girls is endemic to nearly all societies, and it takes many forms, both physical and psychological”, said DeFrantz. She added: “Violence is at the extreme end of a continuum that includes gender-based discrimination, taunts and sexual harassment. We cannot eradicate violence against women without eradicating the discriminatory attitudes that condone or even encourage it. Sport and its values are valuable tools to address and improve self-esteem, body control, leadership and 6 assertiveness - all being elements which can contribute to tackle violence.” Fighting sexual harassment and sexual abuse in sport DeFrantz (2013) also explained that sport itself may be affected by violence against women and girls: “Unfortunately, the world of sport is not immune to the problem that we are here to address, or to the behaviours that lead to gender-based violence. The IOC has been at the forefront of efforts to eliminate sexual harassment and sexual abuse in sport. Its commitment to this issue is fully aligned with the IOC’s belief that the practice of sport is a human right that cannot be denied on the basis of gender, race or sexual orientation. The Olympic Charter declares that ‘every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination’.” No single solution DeFrantz concluded: “Sport has an important role to play in preventing violence against women and girls. It is not the only answer. There is no single solution to the pervasive problem of gender-based violence. Eliminating and preventing violence against women and girls will require deploying all available assets, including sport. It will require more cooperation and partnerships among individuals and organizations with a commitment to this cause. It will require assistance from governments and educational institutions. While being mindful of the many 7 challenges that women face to access sport and to eradicate gender-based violence in sport, the International Olympic Committee is committed to this effort and will continue to work within sport, and with partners outside sport, to promote the cause of gender equality and eliminate sexual harassment, abuse and violence. Together, we can make a difference and provide a brighter future for our daughters, granddaughters and generations to come.” (IOC’s initiatives in this field here www.olympic.org/sha and herehttp://sha.olympic.org.) International processes The International Olympic Committee (IOC) plays a central leadership role in the world of sport, and its policies set standards in international, regional and national sporting events and procedures. In 1994, it requested that the Olympic Charter be amended to include an explicit reference to the need for action on women and sport. This is reflected in the current Charter, adopted in 2004, which states that one of the roles of the Committee is to “encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women.” In 1995, the International Olympic Committee established a Working Group on Women and Sport, which was elevated to the status of a Commission in 2004.