March 05, 2023

Female athletes in India face widespread sexual abuse

topic:	Women's rights
located:	India
editor:	Hanan Zaffar

Hundreds of Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medal winning champions, protested in Delhi last month accusing officials, including the president of their federation, of sexual harassment. This sparked outrage in the country and once again raised concerns about the safety of female athletes in the south Asian nation.

The protesting athletes accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the President of Wrestling Federation of India of sexually harassing and mentally torturing female wrestlers and staged a protest in India’s national capital demanding his removal. Sharan is a member of ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing them in the Indian Parliament. 

The incident which led to huge uproar in the political and social circles of the country brought the public attention to the issue of harassment against women - a problem which is extremely widespread in India but which people and systems by large seem to be accustomed to. There have been numerous occasions of women athletes dying by suicide following harassment by seniors or coaching staff.

To investigate the allegations, the government formed an oversight committee led by Olympic medallist MC Mary Kom. The committee was given four weeks to complete their investigation, but it is likely to take longer than expected. Dubious critics believe that, like previous investigations involving high profile ruling party members, there will not be any justice.

Harassment against women is pervasive in India. As per India’s National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 428,278 cases of crimes against women were registered across India in 2021 - an increase of 15.3 percent from 2020. Around 30 percent of these registered cases were of sexual harassment or rape. Experts put the number way above the official figures.

While harassment and discrimination against women still continues to persist across Indian society, their existence in sports organisations like wrestling is unfortunately ingrained, partly due to the nature and structure of such organisations. 

An important aspect of this structure is the power balance between officials and players. The officials and coaches have almost unlimited and unquestionable authority over the career of a player, with little to no oversight. As such most of the time a player is at the mercy of the officia;, and rejecting any of the advances or demands from the authorities can be detrimental to a sports person's career. 

The federations which conduct all the tournaments nationally and are controlling authorities and representatives in international competitions have almost all the authority in determining which players compete in such tournaments. Therefore, apart from being good at their game, a player who is dedicated to the sport needs to be on good terms with officials at the helm of such federations to be able to participate in national and international events. 

Another aspect is that most of the female athletes come from underprivileged backgrounds and with little exposure to the modern world. Moreover, they have to live in the training centres away from their homes for months. They carry an element of shame, guilt and fear that many officials misuse. And for them their career is paramount, which is again in the hands of such people. 

These already powerful federations are further worsened by the political links. Many sports organisations, like the Wrestling Federation, are headed by politicians, usually from the ruling party. This makes the officials at the helm of organisations invincible, adding to it the conflict of interest and preferentialism that can take place.  

Even if the “equality of men and women” is enshrined in the Indian constitution, gender discrimination is still a reality in India. And this reality can be seen at every level and in every sector. While it is rooted in the idea that women are supposed to fit a certain box, its implications have led to discrimination, harassment and the subjugation of women. 

Image by Nicolas Hoizey

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