Overcoming Misogyny

In a society steeped in patriarchy, females are at great risk of abuse and violence. 

Campaigns To Stop Violence Against Women Don't Impact Figures

In India, on average, 20 women are killed every day just for bringing in insufficient dowries. That figure disregards so called honour killings of wives, sisters and daughters etc.

Even wearing clothing not approved of by male members of a girls family can result in attacks and killings such as the sad case of that of 17 year old Neha Paswan, who was beaten to unconsciousness, and then hung to death by members of her extended family (grandfather and uncles), in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh just for wearing jeans ....

Killings Remain High ....

.... this is of course not especially unusual, even if the killings are not normally over a girl wearing jeans, in a land where men of all religions claim absolute superiority over women. Of course men in many other nations also have strong views on women's expected roles in their societies, and the male dominance over women. Most Muslim nations are patriarchal, even those on Europe's fringes, but even in the so called socialist countries such as China, many men have not really adopted the idea of full equality.

But Indian men's claim to male superiority and the imagined right to control their women, is publicly challenged every four years .... as well as their national 'superpower' pride. Yes it is India's poor showing at every Olympics that challenges their pride ... its a very poor record for a nation of over one billion people:

•     2016 Rio Olympics: 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
•     2012 London Olympics: 2 Silver, 4 Bronze
•     2008 Beijing Olympics: 1 Gold, 2 Bronze

.... It  is strange, and not really understandable, given that they have such a vast number of people and no obvious physical handicaps such as height or weight. They of course had traditionally done well at men's Hockey, but that early dominance, where they won the first six gold medals after hockey was admitted to the games, waned, and they have not won the gold in that event since 1980.

So, compared even with little islands such as Jamaica (pop approx 3m) ....

•     2016 Rio Olympics: 5 Gold, 4 Silver 2 Bronze.
•     2012 London Olympics: 4 Gold, 5 Silver 3 Bronze.
•     2008 Beijing Olympics: 6 Gold, 3 Silver 2 Bronze.

... its an even more embarrassing recent Olympic record. In fact including this games so far, India has won a grand total of 30 medals since 1900 - 11 from hockey, six from wrestling, four from shooting, three from *athletics, two each in badminton, and boxing and one each in tennis and weightlifting. While Jamaica (since 1948) has won a total of 78 Olympic medals, with all but one medal (cycling bronze), won in track athletics. *Norman Pritchard in 1900 won two.

What makes it particularly funny is that in such a male dominated, patriarchal society, what meagre medal hopes India does have for Tokyo 2020, rests almost entirely upon the shoulders of India's women competitors. Their most likely chance of medals were expected to be:

• Mary Kom (f) - Boxing. Eliminated first-round.
  
• PV Sindhu (f) - Badminton . She has won a Bronze medal.
• Manu Bhaker (f) and Saurabh Chaudhary (m) in the pistol mixed event. Both eliminated.
  
• Vinesh Phogat (f) and Bajrang Punia (m) - Wrestling. Vinesh lost in the quarter finals but has some hopes of a repechage reprieve. Bajrang won a Bronze.
  
• Mirabai Chanu (f) - Weightlifting. Won a Silver medal.
  
• Deepika Kumari (f) - Archery. Lost quarter finals.
  
• Neeraj Chopra (m) - Javelin. Won a Gold medal.
• Ravi Dahiya (m) - Wrestling. He won a silver medal.
  

So far in Tokyo 2020, Indian medal successes have been 

• Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a Olympic gold medal.
• The wrestler Ravi Dahiya, who has won an Olympic silver medal. 
• The men's hockey team, which has won a bronze (and the women's hockey team got to the semi-finals, but no medal). 
• Wrestler Bajrang Punia has wona Bronze.
• In women's weightlifting Mirabai Chanu has won a silver, 
• While in women's badminton, PV Sindhu has won bronze,
• As did Lovlina Borgohain in the women's boxing. 

So far. with the exception of the team bronze in men's hockey and three men, its still the Indian women, who despite a lot more obstacles to getting to the top, who are upholding half of Indian sporting honour. Mary Kom for example, has faced extra burdens on top of her gender, because she is also a Christian, and so some Hindu nationalists have said that she is somehow not truly Indian. She has also faced some open racism as she is Meitei from Manipur in the Himalayan foothills, and so not considered ethnically 'Indian' by some.

So how India's half billion misogynists must truly hate the 4 yearly exposure of their failings that the Olympics bring (the Javelin win will have assuaged some of this) ... but then again, perhaps this is the excuse for why so many feel the need to physically control their female population with the constant threat of death. Oh well, Indian men can gain some solace from non Olympic sports at which they excel such as Cricket, Kambala and Kabaddi.