Top women wrestlers in India have been camping on the streets of New Delhi since April 22 to demand an investigation into the president of the Wrestling Federation of India for sexual harassment.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Shakhi Malik with Bhim Army President, Chander Shekhar Ravan, held a solidarity march from Jantar Mantar to Palika Bazar, on May 15, 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
The women wrestlers, including Olympic medalists, say Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sexually harassed seven women wrestlers over more than ten years.
India’s Vinesh Phogat celebrates after winning against Sri Lanka’s Chamodya Keshani Maduravalage Donfor the Women’s Freestyle 53kg wrestling event at the Commonwealth Games in Coventry Britain on Aug. 6, 2022 (REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff)
Singh, who is also a member of parliament for the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), has denied the allegations.
BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at the Parliament House complex during Budget Session, on February 6, 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Sakshi Malik, the first Indian woman to win a medal for wrestling at the Olympics, said she and other women wrestlers had tried to file a police complaint against Singh in 2012 but the case “disappeared within 24 hours”.
Sakshi Malik of India celebrates winning the bronze medal after her victory against Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan at the Women’s Freestyle 57kg event at the 2016 Rio Olympics on 17 Aug. 2016. (REUTERS/Toru Hanai)
In January, the group of women went public and began a protest in the capital. The women said the sports ministry then told them it would organize an investigation committee, but they were not informed of any progress for months.
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, during a protest against Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over alleged sexual harassment, at Jantar Mantaron April 24, 2023 in New Delhi, India.(Photo by Salman Ali/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
In April, the women decided to relaunch their protest, forgoing their rigorous training regimes with just a few months to go until the World Championships and the Asian Games.
Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik seen during the ongoing protest against Wrestling Federation of India’s President at Jantar Mantar on April 25, 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Alongside their supporters, the wrestlers have been sleeping on mattresses and under mosquito nets, withstanding extreme weather conditions and alleged use of force by police.
Indian wrestlers and their supporters participate in a protest demanding the removal of the Wrestling Federation of India president, for alleged sexual harassment on January 20, 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Imtiyaz Khan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The wrestlers say they will not move until Singh is arrested.
“We have staked everything that we have – our careers, our reputations, even our lives – in order to raise this issue,” Malik told the Guardian. “We are not raising this just for ourselves, it’s for all the girls who have faced harassment from powerful men and haven’t been able to speak out.”
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat showing a letter wrestlers have written to the Women BJP MP’s to come and support them during the press conference at Jantar Mantar, on May 14, 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
“The entire country has pinned its hopes on us to get another medal – and we really want to – but here we are, sitting for 30 days with no resolution,” Bajrang Punia, a male wrestler who won a bronze at the 2020 Olympics, told the BBC.
Sangeeta Phogat, Sakshi Malik ,Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia during a protest march from Jantar Mantar to Hanuman Mandir, on May 16, 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
“People say we are protesting for personal gains. But not getting to compete is the worst thing that could happen to a player,” he added.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Shakhi Malik with Bhim Army President, Chander Shekhar Ravan at a solidarity march from Jantar Mantar to Palika Bazar, on May 15, 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
