New Delhi, March 6 On the occasion of International Women's Day, rugby player Priya Bansal reminisced about the numerous hurdles she had to surmount to excel in a sport considered by many as a male bastion.
When she started, not only did Priya not get any support, but there was also the threat of being married off at a very young age. She surmounted all those challenges and has represented the country for over a decade. She is currently working as a teacher in Rewari in Haryana.
Priya comes from a family background where there was no support for women taking up sport and despite there being no appreciation for her efforts, she has represented India for 10 years, playing at the Asian level.
"The biggest challenge I had to face was that rugby is not very developed in India. I started playing in 2011, but I did not get any appreciation. I am from a family background where the girls were told not to wear shorts, not to make friends, and not to go out. In 2012, I got selected for the national team. But I was told that I would have to get married.
"I had two options, either marriage or selection in the Indian team. I worked hard, I held my ground, and I went on to represent the Indian team. It was a life-changing moment," Priya told IANS.
Priya says she wants to continue representing the Indian national team. Marriage is definitely on the horizon but only after achieving her goals. "I broke the tradition of childhood marriage," says Priya proudly.
She says the government and society are now supporting women in all fields. "My family, government, and society have been very supportive. Because of my family's support, I could reach this stage. We come from a section of society where we are told not to wear shorts, not to go out, and not to be friends with boys. But my father supported me a lot. 'You go ahead, I am with you', he would say. "The government has also played a big role, No one knew rugby when we started."
Regarding the Prime Minister's mission of developing India, Priya said that it is a very good mission.
"Nowadays, women are everywhere, take any field, in any work, you will find them at the forefront. The vision that the Prime Minister has to develop India is to help the country achieve all-around development in all fields. For example, there are tournaments all through the year, nowadays, so many games are being played, and this is taking us towards development. Earlier, we used to get two medals in the Olympics; now, we have gone to seven to nine," said Priya. She said many schemes and programmes have been launched to support development in all fields.
Regarding Viksit Bharat, she said that though a lot of development has taken place, India is not yet a developed country. "But we have reached a very good level," she added.
On the Prime Minister's resolve for Viksit Bharat, Priya said women can play a very important role in this. "The way women were invited to Delhi, shown respect, it encourages and motivates us. We can also motivate others, we can motivate the girls from the rural areas. This is a huge contribution to development. We are role models for someone. Can we contribute towards the development of society? So, this will have a huge impact (on young minds)," she said.
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