The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to give long-awaited due to Indian women’s cricket by introducing the Women’s Premier League in India. The lucrative T20 league is expected to close the prevailing difference between women's and men’s cricketers in India.
Notably, Women’s cricket in India has experienced a decade-long struggle to get the due which they are finally getting, not just from the BCCI but also with the increased interest in women’s games among fans.
While the BCCI has a lot at stake with the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League, a Twitter thread by a woman, who claims to be a die-heart cricket fan, has shared her horrific experience of watching cricket in India for women/girls due to lack of basic infrastructure in stadiums.
She further makes a shocking claim that in Mumbai, women’s toilets were ‘mostly all locked, while the one which was open had no lights, no water, no trash bin, no toilet paper.’
“Unclean WCs, unimaginable filth. I had to explain to my then 8-year-old to not drink any more water until we exited the stadium," she adds.
While Mumbai stadium had no basic facilities in women's toilets, Delhi stadiums were no different. “In Delhi, we found more open toilets. But the pipes connecting the water supply to the flush tanks were missing. No trash cans, no toilet paper. So, the floor got sacked and WCs remained dirty. Stinking mess. Again rule #1 for women came into effect – no drinking water,” she added.
The Indian cricket fan didn’t just expose the infrastructure deficiency but also schooled the BCCI to not dare to ‘tell women in the country to stay home, watch the game on TV.’
In conclusion, she admits that while women’s IPL is a step forward, women in sports must get their fair due. “Women who follow sports and come out to watch the game must also be treated with some respect and in this case as paying customers who are asking for basic necessities to be made available,” she concludes.
