write a newspaper article in about 100 words, comparing the achievements of the two sportswomen based on the information you have already collected.
Answers
June 20,2018, Bengaluru: Two of the most successful Indian sportswomen in their own fields, Sania and Saina have earned achievements over achievements. They have both been awarded the Arjuna Award which is given to those recognized remarkable individuals of India in sports. The third highest civilian honour of India, the Padma Bhushan, was awarded to both of them as well. There is no doubt about either of their capabilities. They have been awarded as the World Number ones for their own sport and rightly so but where Sania differs from Saina is the context she comes from. Though they've both earned medals and trophies in their own names Sania, to me, the biggest achievement to Sania is the way she has faced the society. From being questioned for wearing short skirts, to her marriage, she has been trolled and faced with many controversies but the spirit and courage she has shown in such situations, surpasses all the gold.
Explanation:
“Women get the attention when we get into the men’s arena, and that’s sad.”
As controversial it can be, these striking words of the famous Billie Jean King not only emphasised upon the status of women’s tennis in the 1970’s but also resounds with the current situation of women sports. And, if one would contemplate on those words for its true meaning, there would be a handful of interpretations; all of which reflect one terminology, ‘Gender Discrimination’.
Gender discrimination in Sports itself can be witnessed in various forms such as the gender pay gap between the male and female athletes, the sexist attitude towards female sportspersons or even sexual harassment incidents. No doubt facts and statistics endorse this discrimination, but the key to understanding the reasons for such inequality is essential.
Coming back to Billie Jean King, she was one of the first few to advocate for equality by pushing for equal prize money. In 1973, the 39 Grand Slam title holder had founded a separate Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in retort to her meagre U.S. Open prize money and shunned all taboos by beating Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” game.
As a result, the following edition of the U.S. Open had become the first ever major tournament to have offered equal prize money to women and men. But has a gender equality regime regarding daily wages and prize money been established in the current sports industries?
In the Gender Inequality Issue of the Global Sports Salaries Survey, 2017, it was duly noted that the gender pay gap in Sport is more than in politics, business, medicine or even academia. Currently, on an average, a male basketball athlete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) earns $7,147,217 which is equivalent to ninety-six times the salaries of their female counterparts.
This disparity speaks volumes especially when you consider the fact that the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is highest paid women’s league in the World. Another illustration can be seen in the ongoing FIFA Men’s World Cup, wherein the prize money is set at 400 million dollars compared to the 15-million-dollar prize for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Similarly, the average earners of the English Premier League get paid 100 times more than the women in the equivalent FA Women’s Super League. And finally, to top it all, the Forbes 2018 Highest Paid Athletes does not include a single sportswoman within its top 100.