Advertisement
India’s women wrestlers fight to take down alleged abuser over sexual harassment
- Sakshi Malik, 30, and Vinesh Phogat, 28, have been protesting against Wrestling Federation of India head Brij Bhushan Singh, 66, since January
- Observers say the wrestlers’ experience shows how little India has changed since the gang rape and murder of a young woman on a New Delhi bus in 2012
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
With sit-ins and threats to cast their medals into the Ganges, two top women wrestlers have caught the hearts of India’s public as they seek justice for what they allege was sexual harassment by the head of their sport, who is also a senior member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Advertisement
Sakshi Malik, 30, and Vinesh Phogat, 28, made the allegations in January and demanded that police arrest and investigate Brij Bhushan Singh, 66, head of the Wrestling Federation of India, whom they accuse of sexual harassment.
But their cause, which has drawn support from student groups, farmers, Indian athletes and the International Olympic Committee, has riled authorities, leading to their brief detention and then an attempt to use deepfake photography to discredit their cause.
In at least 10 police complaints, the women allege that Singh, over many years, inappropriately touched and sexually harassed six Olympians. Allegations have also been levelled against the politician by the father of a minor.
02:27
Indian Olympic wrestlers held amid protests over sex-harassment claims against federation chief
Indian Olympic wrestlers held amid protests over sex-harassment claims against federation chief
Some women feared him so much that they said they used to hide during his visits to their training facilities, to avoid being molested by him on the pretext of checking their heart rate.
Advertisement
Advertisement