Introduction

  Women have struggled from decades to get equal opportunities in the male dominant society in each field. Women were confined to the house work and thought that they belong to that space in the later Vedic or Medieval period in the Indian society (Saravanakumar, 2016). Women have faces numerous challenges and discrimination in every field whether its education, rights, facilities as well as sports. The field of sports was considered as a male dominating in world. In the early Olympics women were not allowed to even witness the sports event and later the were not allowed to participate in them. After the revival of modern Olympics (1896), still women were kept out of the participation as Perrier de Coubertin was follower of the same ideology that the games should be exclusively for men (Dar et al., 2023). But with time women have evolved significantly in the sports and participated in the Olympics after four year (1900) of its revival in certain sports but again in 1928 Olympics women was kept out of the event. After that women were only allowed to participate in certain event till 1952 Olympics after that women are challenging the masculine energy (Banerjee and Manna, 2020). This historical background proves that women have faced numerous of challenges in sports as well despite this they have proven their prowess, determination, breaking records, breaking down stereotypes and have an inspiring story for future generations.

  The picture of women in India was not too different from the world. Indian sports field has been long dominated by male athletes. In India women athletes have to face the stereotypical behaviour of the society that women are delicate, they don’t possess strength, there is no future of women athletes and they do not belong to this field. They do not only face the stereotypical mentality but also face the lack of infrastructure, media coverage, coaching etc (Sharma et al., 2018). By overcoming these barriers women have make there way to this field also, by giving example or proving their abilities of face challenges, talent and determination to overcome the stereotypes (Main et al., 2018). Despite these hurdles, female athletes like P.V. Sindhu, Mary Kom, and Mithali Raj and many more have emerged as trailblazers demonstrating that women can excel in competitive sports while challenging stereotypes and redefining gender norms.

for marriage and motherhood (Arora et al., 2024). In addition to this 65% population lives in rural area in India (Ministry of Finance, 2021) rest the population is still not aware about the importance of sports. Still sports are considered as a recreational or fun activity which make it more verse for women to pursue the field. The sports have a significant role in women character building and making them fit physically, emotional, intellectually and socially (Aldegheiry,2021).

Due to lack of infrastructure, coaching facilities and safeguard women athletes has to back step from the field. There has been a severe gender imbalance in the allocation of resources for female athletes, with fewer opportunities for women in terms of sports scholarships, coaching, and sponsorships (SAI,2020). As Indian 65% population lives in rural area many girls have limited access to sports training facilities, which often lack basic amenities and qualified coaches. Even the dresses and sports equipment became barrier for Indian women to participate in the sports. As per Indian culture women should cover their head and eyes should be on the ground (Oza, 2018).

1.3 Security and Pay Disparity in Women’s Sports

Sexism and stereotypes further compound the challenges faced by female athletes. Around the world, women in sports are often judged for their appearance rather than their athletic achievements and their commitment to sports is frequently questioned in the context of family responsibilities (Kakoti, 2024). Women athletes sometime face the security issues like sexual harassment, abuse and bullying by their counterparts. The Sports Authority of India has only documented two incidents where trainers faced arrest on the accusation of harassment and sexual assault, resulting in minimal convictions, often as short as 3-day period (Sapariya,2024). While the visibility of women in sports has increased, there remains a significant gap in terms of pay and opportunities between men and women. Women get lesser sponsorship compared to their counter. As compared to male athlete still in 21 century women get lesser pays and salary for the same sports that took the same efforts and time. Even this is seen that there is a large difference in the winning prize also (Choudhary, 2024). This can be seen in the Indian cricket team where male athletes

1. the female physiology (Kraemer et al., 2025). We cannot neglect that in this era women and their relation to the different fields are the new and emerging topics for the research which is helping the women to grow further. In sports also there have many researches that are helping the coaches and the authorities to make the training session specific to the demand of the physiology of the women.
2. c) More Media Coverage and Role Model: Media plays an important role in today’s society whether it’s a social media or print media it influences the mind of young and make aware the old generation (Sumadevi, 2023). As media is covering and promoting the male sports it should also give coverage to the female athletes also. Because of media coverage the female sports will reach to the people and it will help the people to understand that female also have career in sports and sports is not related to male dominant society. It will help female to grasp more opportunity in having the prize and scholarships. Idealizing and adverting the famous female athletes will make and set examples for the young girls. Such as in current scenario Mithali raj from cricket and P.V Sandhu get popularity among due to the media coverage.
3. d) Equal Opportunity and Leadership at Management: Women should get equal opportunity in all the fields such as job in the govt sector, accessible facilities, training centres and equal leadership role in the society. Its has been seen that still women get very less opportunity in higher authority and higher ranks. Giving more opportunity to women in higher rank will help and set example for others to reach that goal. Still, India only has 25% of women in high rank (Main et al., 2018). PT Usha setting high goals as president of IOA (Indian Olympic Association).

2.2 NGO’S and Organisations: NGO’s play a vital role in a country to develop something and work for a specific goal. Sport popularity among women was one of a such goal. Because of the outdated mindset women was confined to the house chores but some NGOs work in the rural setup to demolish this mindset (BI et al., 2024) such as Kreda Bharati, Naandi foundation, Sportz Village Foundation and many more. These are improving sports level at the grassroot.

and breaking the stereotypical mindset that sports is a masculine filed. The govt policies such as Khelo India, ASMITA are promoting more and more women in the field. This field still have a scope of research that will help the coaches, trainers, and the administrators to make the policies for women in the field and will help in upliftment. This will increase the ratio of women in sports and sports will affect the young mind and keep them healthy as youth is the future of any nation. And it is said that if a mother or a woman in a house is educated, she can educate the whole family (Sibulal, 2021).

References