What’s sports without patriarchy?

India's top Olympians riveted the world's attention this January, as wrestler after wrestler told of nightmare ordeals they experienced at the hands of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The national body has since confronted a range of accusations that men with influence over women athletes have repeatedly used their power and position to harass and abuse them.

The ongoing reckoning with the Brij Bhushan case comes amid a larger outpouring of incidents about sexual assault and harassment in all arenas of sports, from the former president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, being accused of ‘seemingly forcefully kissing' a midfielder at the FIFA Women's World Cup to the former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar abusing thousands in the guise of medical treatment, and the people in power negligent and complicit in protecting such perpetrators.

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Women who find their passion in sports, testing the strength and endurance of their bodies and spirits as they grapple each other for victory, enter a dark minefield. They step into a deeply secretive patriarchy where silence and submission are rewarded and speaking up is considered evidence of not being a ‘team player'.

Should women athletes fail to be a ‘team player' because they question authority or the men in power, they are replaced by another athlete with the same aspirations, talent and work ethic who will keep mum and ‘put out'. And if they manage to battle their way through, here comes a more grievous concern, that of blatant sexualization. If they bother protesting, they will be in ruins.

The term ‘ruins' here has a larger impact on the lives of women athletes than one can envisage. Perhaps, the image of a heavily garlanded Brij Bhushan with confidant and newly-elected WFI chief Sanjay Singh by his side flashing a victory sign last week is enough evidence alone.

Also Read: Silence is ‘not' golden

Women in sports and the weight of patriarchy

Brij Bhushan's startling ‘dabdaba tha, dabdaba rahega' (our dominance was there, and it will remain) remark following the election results present a clear picture of who calls the shots in the federation. His comments reek of arrogance and is a prime example why men in power need to be told to pull their heads in.

"You play any sport, it is true that you will be targeted if you are a woman. There will be plenty of men and also women to pull you down, crush your passion, and discourage you from stepping out for training. I'm 33 now, I left sports for this very reason. In the end, tolerance takes a hit and interferes with your emotions. It is hard for a woman to take up sports, not just in India but worldwide," a former national-level athlete told Mid-Day on conditions of anonymity.

"How often do you see women in power when it comes to sports? For men, their leadership responsibility is a very good opportunity to bully, manipulate and mistreat women. That's why women's inclusivity is so important. The day this changes, one can see real development happening. The man (Brij Bhushan) has some serious allegations levelled on him, tell me what action has been taken? Tell me who is suffering here. It would have not escalated this far had action been taken initially. What example does this set for society? That we are easy targets and any man can get away with physically and mentally harassing a woman. My heart goes out to them (complainant wrestlers)," she lamented.

I quickly asked her if she would want to see her daughter go into professional sports in the future. "No," pat came the reply. "No parent wants to see their child getting hurt. I don't want my daughter to go through the difficulties I faced in my sports career. I have no problem if she wants to do something else, but not sports as a profession. What's the point if she has to quit one day?"

The politicisation of sexual abuse

That how much of an influence Brij Bhushan exercises over the national body became starkly evident after former Commonwealth Games champion Anita Sheoran was defeated 40-7 by Singh in the polls. A teary-eyed Sakshi Malik retired and an indignant Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri in protest, alleging that the government went back on its promise of not allowing a Brij Bhushan loyalist to contest the polls.

Unfortunately, the only way to prevent a case from being wiped off from public memory too soon is to politicise it. Criminal cases eventually become political footballs and a mere tool for parties' own factional battles at the cost of the seriousness of the actual crime involved. Both Singh and Brij Bhushan have, on several instances in the past, claimed that the protesting wrestlers are being backed by the Opposition.

The ongoing WFI vs wrestlers saga, thus, brings us to the question: Who has suffered the most? The wrestlers, no doubt. With no national camps held this year, senior wrestlers, barring Sakshi, Punia, and Vinesh Phogat, barely had any international exposure to bank on. The controversy, meanwhile, made matters worse for the juniors, for there were no Under-15 and Under-20 nationals held.

Still a long way to go!

Three days after the elections were held following a slew of warnings from the United World Wrestling (UWW), the saga took a new turn after the sports ministry suspended the newly-elected body for disregarding the established legal norms, while appearing to be still in control of former office-bearers.

What irked many was Singh acting primarily on the advice of Brij Bhushan in calling for junior nationals in the latter's stronghold, Gonda, and later announcing the senior nationals. As expected, the secretary cried foul and informed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that the decisions were taken without his knowledge and were also against the constitution rules.

While Singh has reiterated his innocence and gone so far as to make his intentions clear about challenging the suspension in court sooner than later, Brij Bhushan raised many eyebrows after vowing to retire from all affairs related to the sport. It is not entirely wrong to imagine that the latter was under tremendous pressure for his raucous celebrations after the polls. Only if he had taken this step a few months ago, a lot would have been in control.

So, is this the beginning of a long-overdue shake-up in a domain overwhelmingly dominated by men? Yes. Maybe. But ‘this too shall pass'.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author's personal views, and do not represent the views of Mid-Day.