Last week, 18-year-old chess player and International Master Divya Deshmukh, in an Instagram post, called out the sexist behaviour of the crowd at the recently concluded Tata Steel Masters tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands.
The player posted that she had been wanting to address this issue for a while but was waiting for the tournament to get over.
Calling out the misogyny and behaviour of the crowd, she said, “I got told and also myself noticed how women in chess are often just taken for granted by spectators.”
Describing their behaviour, she added, “I played a few games which I felt were quite good and I was proud of them. I got told by people how the audience was not even bothered with the game but instead focused on every single possible thing in the world: my clothes, hair, accent and every other irrelevant thing.”
The teenager, evidently upset, pointed out, “It is the sad truth that people when women play chess often overlook how good they actually are, the games they play and their strength.”
Misogyny in Indian sport is not a recent phenomenon. Tennis champion Sania Mirza has been consistently targeted for her choices–earlier her choice of spouse and now her divorce from former husband and cricketer Shoaib Malik.
Who can forget the interview with veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai who asked her about her plans for motherhood and “settling down”! Mirza called him out on that one, but such stereotyping continues to exist in sport.
In an earlier interview with HerStory, Mirza had said, “Stereotypes and biases exist in every profession and not just in sport. You need to speak up for yourself and command the respect you deserve. I have been taught that as long as I am doing the right thing, I need to speak up,” she says.
Mirza may be one of the few sportspersons who is not afraid to speak up, and because she is a popular figure, her voice also carries weight. However, a woman just breaking into the world of sport may be unable to do so.
Toxic trolling of women: Have fans become sore losers who cannot handle World Cup defeat with dignity?
Apart from stereotypes, casual sexism is a continuous battle that women in sport face. Along with disparity in pay, facilities, and opportunities, women also have to deal with objectification.
Sportswomen continue to be judged on what they wear and how they lead their lives, and are constantly pitted against the men in their field.
Cricketing legend Mithali Raj once stumped a reporter who asked her who her favourite male cricketer was. She countered, “I have always been asked who’s your favourite cricketer but you should ask them who their favourite female cricketer is.”
Badminton player Jwala Gutta has also been the target of many misogynistic comments and has been objectified for her appearance and fashion choices. The player has been quite vocal about this on social media, calling out those trolling her.
“Just because I look or dress in a certain way, it doesn’t mean I’m easy to get,” she said.
The sexism does not end with objectification. We all know what happened to the women wrestlers who protested against sexual harassment by Wrestling Federation of India chief, Brij Bhushan Sharana Singh. Their demands are yet to be addressed.
For sportswomen like Sakshi Malik who led the protests, there was no option but to quit the game because the women did not get the redressal they deserved.
Misogyny is deep-rooted in Indian society, perhaps leading to the smug assumption by many that women and competitive sport don’t go together.
A BBC survey, carried out in 2020 across 14 states in India with 10,181 respondents, highlighted that 50% of those surveyed could not name even one sportswoman. And 42% of respondents felt that women’s sports were not as “entertaining” as men’s.
However, it is evident that lack of knowledge about women in sport does not stop people from attacking the women themselves, for matters that have nothing to do with the game.
Deshmukh summed it up well, “I feel women are under-appreciated and every irrelevant thing is focused on and hated on while the guys would probably get away with the same things. I am barely 18 and I have faced so much judgement including hatred for years for things that don’t even matter. I think women should start getting equal respect.”
Edited by Swetha Kannan
Chess player Divya Deshmukh speaks up against sexism; misogyny in Indian sport is not new
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03.02.2024
Last week, 18-year-old chess player and International Master Divya Deshmukh, in an Instagram post, called out the sexist behaviour of the crowd at the recently concluded Tata Steel Masters tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands.
The player posted that she had been wanting to address this issue for a while but was waiting for the tournament to get over.
Calling out the misogyny and behaviour of the crowd, she said, “I got told and also myself noticed how women in chess are often just taken for granted by spectators.”
Describing their behaviour, she added, “I played a few games which I felt were quite good and I was proud of them. I got told by people how the audience was not even bothered with the game but instead focused on every single possible thing in the world: my clothes, hair, accent and every other irrelevant thing.”
The teenager, evidently upset, pointed out, “It is the sad truth that people when women play chess often overlook how good they actually are, the games they play and their strength.”
Misogyny in Indian sport is not a recent phenomenon. Tennis........
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