First Study In India Shows How Sports Enhances Social Capital For Women Athletes in Disability Sports

Did you hear about Pinki Khatun, a national swimmer with visual impairment? For 4 years she used to hide her swimsuit in her home as swimming was considered strictly a men's sport by her family. Women with disabilities are doubly discriminated against in our society and remain as one of the most marginalized communities in India with unaccounted physical abuses and sexual harassment.

"In our house, we have six members and only my father earns, that too meager sum of 2000 rupees monthly, apart from formal matches, I do not get any chance to practice my sport. I do not lack time, I feel deprived due to the unavailability of money and resource, so my only option remains is to run every day to keep my body fit," said Rinku Lohar, a 100m athlete with visual impairment who believed only through sports she could overcome socially constructed obstruction and create her own identity and agency.

Civilian Welfare Foundation

The research entitled Sports and Social Capital: A Qualitative Study on Women Athletes with Disabilities" at International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary scope talks about how sports is enabling woman with disabilities in Bengal to build on their social capital. The research which was published in September 2020 focuses on five international woman athletes from Bengal who are below the poverty line is the second of its genre from the Civilian Welfare Foundation (www.cwforg.com) who proposes sports as a model for empowerment for people with disabilities in India. The first research study entitled Sports as a tool for Inclusion and as a model of empowerment for persons with disabilities was published as a book chapter by Adhyayan Publishers in 2018 from the University of Pondicherry.

Social capital enhances the flow of resources to individuals via formal- informal network and social support, mentioned Debpriya Adhikary, a Masters in Sociology from Jadavpur University and the first author of the study. She added social capital is cemented on social bonding, linking, and bridging networks, which depends on individuals' membership in a social network, portrays that this form of capital can be easily accumulated by people who have convenient accessibility to the public sphere and can conform to the general expectation of the society. Collective activity through Sports has increased their social sphere, which has increased the propensity of interaction and connection with others, Adhikary explained.

"In my childhood, when I wasn't involved in Sports, I lacked the courage to interact with people. I felt the insecurity of being an object of discussion and fun due to my blindness," mentioned Manjari, a national javelin thrower. Manjari's journey has been one of the most astonishing ones with 8 gold medals in nationals and several medals in different state championships.

Civilian Welfare Foundation

The disabled population of India suffers marginalization in several aspects of life which leads to a low self-image. It further results in a diminished quality of life with several social and psychological malfunctioning, stated Anusheela Brahmachary, a sports psychologist at Medica Super Speciality Hospital, Kolkata, and the author of the first research study in India proposing sports as a tool for empowerment for disabled people. She explains sports may play a seminal role in enhancing self-esteem, self-efficacy, achievement motivation, body image, autonomy, and perceived competence of the individuals. We found sports have helped them expand their horizon and gain greater accessibility in an inclusive environment said Brahmachary.

Bengal has been always a hotbed for para-athletes. With one of the first associations, 25 years back for para-swimming, Bengal has produced more than 100 international para-athletes. Despite that, the participation of women athletes with disabilities remains quite low in the region.

One finds clear discrimination between the rights and privileges of a girl and a boy. it is obvious that women in family situations have been less likely than their male counterparts to be able to negotiate the time and resources needed to maintain sport participation. Rubia Chatterjee, an international athlete from Bengal with limb impairment shared how tough it was to choose sports over conventional activities as a married woman. She mentions that even after resistance from relatives and immediate family, it was because of my husband's and in-laws support, I could get formal training. I now feel I am best in what I do.

Pratima Ghosh, a 19-year-old national level player in disability sport, stated how her perceptions about herself and life altered as she started her involvement in swimming and chess from a very early age, despite her eye impairment. She joyously expresses after I participated in Sports, I started to travel in various places that tremendously helped in bolstering my self-confidence and engaging with the outside world without the direct support of my family.

Civilian Welfare Foundation

When contacted about the importance of the work, the Associate & Managing Editor-In-Chief of International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary scope (IRJMS) Dr. Siddikuzzaman cited that research studies in disability sports are very rare in the Indian academic circle and its important more and more interdisciplinary studies on sports like this come up. He mentioned how there are very few reviewers who can assess studies on sports and disability at the same time.

While all the athletes complained about inadequate government support throughout their careers, everyone agreed that sport has been a useful tool for building social capital, fostering community development, and building sustainability in their life. Moreover, the socio-cultural aspects of social capital became prominent with all the five respondents who recognized sports as an important cohesive element in enriching their socio-cultural index. The study though had done in only 5 respondents showed the larger picture of the importance of sports for people with disabilities especially among women in breaking barriers both mental and physical. While sports have been shown to be a promoter of different psychological aspects in the previous study by Brahmachary et al, the role of sports in enhancing social capital in the Indian context was explored for the first time concerning women with disabilities in India. This study if in future can be done on more respondents will be helpful for intersectional policies with a focus on disability rights and sports and gender.