Priyanka Gulati
My seven-year-old, to my surprise, refused to play cricket with me one day stating that ‘women don’t play cricket’.
Where did this come from? I’ve been a speaker/ writer of women empowerment all my life, supported by my husband, elder son and in- laws, so what was the source of these thoughts? It was enough that we had to fight for equality at work and now at home. With this ‘Et tu son’ moment I decided to provoke him further to realize his thoughts were a consequence of my actions and not manifested by him.
We are avid cricket fans, from test series to IPL to World Cup, and the potpourri of names he had heard were Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, boom boom Bumrah and hence this bias.
This is true of any sport, per data only 5% of women sports are covered by media, only 5%. This post is about the absence of coverage to women's sport - about the invisible women.
The current India Bridge trials have been shown on vugraph for men, mixed and seniors. The question I have for all of you is " then why not the women?"
Why is it that this post needs to be written at all? After all, the only boundary that should exist is that on the field.
Even if we go with the argument that men are better at the sport (subject of another post) , there is no reason to not show the ladies game. It’s not just about how we represent them today. We the women are creating a business case for representation, representation of the invisible women.
To quote Jane Austen, a prominent writer of the late 18th century - early 19th century : ‘The quarrels of popes and kings with wars and pestilences in every page, the men so good for nothing and hardly any women at all- it is very tiresome’
My Asha and Puja is that these small steps improve the Vidya of the Bridge ecosystem, that’s my Kalpana for Ladies Bridge. Want Ekta from you on this front please. May the Devi shine on us! Wishing them all the best.
After following up with the powers that be, Mr. TC Pant has promised to show the final tomorrow.
Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.
View Comments
nicely put Priyanka!
Thank you Hema
I’m rooting for Kalpana and Vidhya.
Currently in 3rd place.
I loved watching the Commonwealth Games cricket last summer in England. The Indian women are good to watch and the best in the world. The difference in power is accommodated by shorter boundaries.
My mum was an opening bowler at Trinity College Dublin. Playing against the men who scoffed and batted other-handed she took 3 wickets in her first over. They quickly started batting normally.
She went onto become a judge and is now at 80 teaching bridge and getting nicely paid as well as assisting on all my brother/sister’s bridge holidays
Would love to meet your mother.
Well articulated. Yes, a genuine issue that needs to be of serious concern by not only men but also women who opt to remain silent!
In South we always believe" There is no Siva without Sakthi ".
You will do well to ask women bridgers of South India ( especially TN) how they are made visible here - including a place of pride in the blogs 😌. The icing is we have elected a lady as our president in succession ✌
VNR
Totally agreed VNR. Sri ma’am is a guru. And I do read all your articles.
Brilliant and "visible" articulation!
Thanks Bindiya
May I also request Ms Priyanka and all ladies who are in the bridge fraternity to peruse my recent blog " The Yin and Yang of bridge ".
It is a tribute and a compliment to the women bridgers, thank you 🌹🙏❤
Happy bridging
Cheers
VNR
Here is the link to the post
loved what Jesal said women are making the men visible in bridge from
Formidables - Kiran Nadar
Fenesta - Richa Shriram
Monica Jajoo
Hope and Prey - Puja Batra
Hema Deora’s team have all reached the top 16 in the major tournaments