Main content

Wrestling for equality

India has a poor record when it comes to the balance between the sexes. How can sportswomen there overcome the barriers to success? Devina Gupta and her guests in Delhi discuss.

India has a poor record when it comes to the balance between the sexes. Gender bias begins early in conservative families where girls may be denied education and forced into household work. Playing sport is one way of challenging these gender stereotypes. But it's a struggle. From social discrimination to equal pay, sportswomen say they have to fight prejudice at every step. It starts with questions on their choice of sport and the way they dress, and moves on to why they want to step out of the house to compete in a game for men. Devina Gupta's guests have answered these questions by demonstrating their prowess in their chosen sports. Devina is joined by Hetal Dave, India's first and only professional female sumo wrestler, known to her fans as Sumo Didi; Aishwarya Pissay, champion off-road racer; and Diskit Angmo, ice hockey player from Ladakh. They discuss with her how sportswomen can level the playing field and achieve professional equality with men.
This week's programme is produced in conjunction with the 主播大秀's Work Life India.

Image Hetal Dave. Copyright Getty

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 1 Sep 2019 18:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 31 Aug 2019 07:32GMT
  • Sun 1 Sep 2019 00:32GMT
  • Sun 1 Sep 2019 18:32GMT

In The Balance Podcast

Sign up to receive every programme automatically

Podcast