revised_tpt_may_june_17 combine

Role of Sport
in addressing
Gender issues
The concept of gender equity
recognizes that men and women
have different life experiences,
needs, levels of power and access
to decision – making levels in our
own society and that these should
be identified and balanced.
In recent years, there has been a
significant shift from advocating
for ‘gender equity in sport’ to
using ‘sport for gender equity
and personal development’.
Sport provides a way to reach
girls on a variety of social issues,
including health, education and
human rights particularly when
social interaction outside the
home is constrained. It provides
girls with safe spaces in which
to assemble, enjoy mobility
and freedom of expression,
build skills in communication,
teamwork, leadership and
negotiation and create their
own social supportive networks.
Achieving sport goals and
playing alongside boys increases
their self esteem and enhances
their self image leading to
greater confidence and self
empowerment. Given that sport
is traditionally a male domain,
girl’s participation in sport itself
challenges gender stereotypes,
breaking deep rooted attitudes
held by boys, families and
communities.
Exposure to competing at
national and international levels
boosts public recognition of the
skills that women and girls can
develop through sport. For
example Indian sportswomen,
P V Sindhu, Saina Nehwal,
Mary Kom, Dipa Karmakar
Sakshi Malik , Deepa Malik
(Paralympic Champion) are
not only leaders and inspiring
millions of girls and women
but are also challenging
traditional society norms and
gender based sports thinking.
Promoting gender
equity through sport
Role of Policy
Government should provide
a policy on providing equal
opportunities for sport
engagement: this could be in
terms of education programmes,
access to facilities, safe spaces,
sponsored programmes for girls
and women and human resources.
These should be accompanied by
proper accountability methods to
track progress and achievement.
Role of Society, Education
Boards, Principals and
Teachers
Girls’ education has profound
and long lasting benefits for
families and entire communities.
After witnessing the Indian
Women Power in Rio 2016, we
must encourage participation
of girls and women in sports
from school level. Parents’
awareness and support is
critical. School management
boards should introduce systemic
programmes for physical activity
(physical education and school
sport), install proper training
facilities and have recognition
programmes in place. Training
and empowerment of teachers
is mandatory to motivate girls
to participate in sport. Focus
should be on participation and
fun rather than on competition
and performance. This is more
effective in achieving an inclusive
approach to promoting gender
equity
Public advocacy and
recognition
Consistent advocacy programmes
on the long lasting benefits of
sport, especially for girls, women
and community empowerment
can impact participation.
There should be regular
promotion and recognition of
women’s involvement in sport
as a contribution to public life,
community development and
building a healthy nation.
Media
Even though there is growth
and popularity of women
sports, female athletes are still
considered inferior to male
athletes. Evidence can be in the
form of less media coverage on
girls and women’s achievement
in sport. Compared to male
athletes there is an obsession
with the body of female athlete
rather than on her athletic skills.
This inequality within sport will
continue to exist until the media
re-examines its portrayal of
female athletes.
Organizations
working on
Development of
Women through
Sport
1. UN Women - The United
Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women -
See: http://www.unwomen.
org. They work with sports
organizations across the
world to teach everyone that
gender-based violence has no
place in or off the field.
2. Women Win – A global
leader in girls’ empowerment
through sport, leveraging on
the power of play to help girls
build leadership and become
better equipped to exercise
their rights. See: https://
womenwin.org/about
3. Special Olympics - Special
Olympics (SO) is the world’s
largest sports organization
for children and adults with
intellectual disabilities,
providing year-round training
and competitions to more
than 5.3 million athletes in
170 countries. Recognized
by the International Olympic
Committee and a federation
in India, SO works with girls
with and without intellectual
disabilities through unified
sport. Details : www.
specialolympics.org
INSPIRING ROLE
MODELS IN SOCIETY
Shikha Rani-Figure
Skater trained by Special
Olympics Bharat-
Himachal Pradesh.
23 yrs of age , a sport star par
excellence Shikha dances with
perfect balance, play bocce, takes
part in athletics and competes
at National and International
Sporting events. What makes
her a phenomenon is that she
engages in all these activities
even after being born without
fingers and toes, having facial
distortions, impaired speech
and having mild intellectual
disabilities.
Born into a poor family, her
journey began wth Prem Ashram,
a special residential school in
Himachal Pradesh where she
joined Special Olympics Bharat
and was introduced to Ravi
Kumar, her coach and mentor.
Seeing her potential and ability
to circumvent her physical
condition, her coach put her on
54 The Progressive Teacher May/Jun 2017