The Sportswomen From a Male Bastion - Haryana

Haryana is a state in the Northern part of India. It is a small state with about 2% of India's population. The state is inhabited by the Jat communities, who are a hardy race and are respected for bravery and courage. In fact the Indian Army has quite a few Jat regiments in their ranks.

Haryana thus is also known as the land of Jats. The stamp of the Jats, who are the dominant community, is there for all to see over the state. Haryana which was once a backward region of the erstwhile state of undivided Punjab, has made tremendous progress in the economic field and there is all round development.

However this progress has to a degree not translated to the women of Haryana where the girl child was neglected for long. The result is that female infanticide and preference for sons has taken roots in Haryana. There is lack of social awareness and for decades Haryana is witness to a deprivation of the rights of women and girls as an equal part of society.

The repercussions for this mind set have been far reaching and Haryana has the lowest male female ratio in India, with a ratio of 982 females for every 1000 males. This is alarming and the union and state government have taken note of it. Efforts are on to change the mind set of the people there.

But all the efforts of the government and social workers have paled before the achievement of the Jat girls in the recently concluded common wealth games. This is one event that has given a fillip to the importance and awareness of the girl child. At these games held at Delhi this year the Haryana girls have set the medal charts on fire in all games and events. Thus from Wrestling to Athletics the girls from Haryana have set the imagination of entire India afire with stupendous performances. Athletic and beautiful these girls have cornered the imagination of India. This has also brought out the awareness among the males of Haryana as to wealth, potency and beauty of there women.

These girls have won nearly 40% of all medals won by the Indian women, despite Haryana having just about 2% of India's population. The men in Haryana have noted this achievement of their women and there is genuine joy in Haryana at these events. This will certainly have its repercussions and we can hope that the dark period of female infanticide and preference for sons may dip just a little and the Haryana can move forward. I have no doubt that this will happen.

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