Indian women wrestlers faced numerous incidents of sexual harassment but didn’t raise their voice. Though, we have defined laws for sexual harassment at workplace, but still there is a fear among women to face the uncertain and negative consequences of the same.
On Friday, Seven women wrestlers filed separate police complaints against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, BJP MP and president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation.
As per the complaints, the incidents took place at Brij Bhushan Singh’s Bunglow, during an international tours as well as domestic competitions, the wrestlers alleged.
Many wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik and Ravi Dahiya, who have raised the issue in January 2023, returned to the protest site at Jantar Mantar on Sunday requesting the government to make the findings of the oversight committee on the wrestler’s allegations against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh publically.
The committee, headed by M C Mary Kom, was set up on January 23 to look into the allegations against Brij Bhushan. Though the deadline is one month, it submitted its findings in the first week of April but not revealed publicly.
Due to this wrestler protest, the WFI election also has been put on hold that scheduled for May 7. The government has asked the Indian Olympic association to make ‘suitable interim arrangements for managing WFI’ and form an ad-hoc committee to conduct elections within 45 days of its formation.
See some people reaction on the actions of government and the committees involved in the investigation:
