The BCCI seems to be heavily biased against women and has clearly stated that a sports ministry suggestion to give 10 per cent representation to them as “ absurd”. It says that the Board would “ never accept... imposition of women having membership and voting rights”. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, the game’s richest body in the world, has said this in a note to the sports ministry on the provisions made in the proposed National Sports Development Bill 2011.
The ministry wants all the national sports federations (NSFs) and the Indian Olympic Association to give “at least 10 per cent of its total membership” to women, besides the 25 per cent membership and voting rights that it envisages for the government- nominated athletes on the executive committees of the NSFs. The BCCI’s 24-member working committee — its decision-making arm — doesn’t have any woman on it.
In its 39-page note to the ministry, the BCCI says it’s not possible to have women sitting in judgement of the men’s team.
“In addition to the 25 per cent membership and voting rights going to cricketers, 10 per cent has been stipulated as per clause 24 (e) to be reserved for women.
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Cricket for women is no doubt conducted under the aegis of the BCCI, but [ it] has never attracted even a fraction of the popularity associated with the men’s team,” writes BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale in the report accessed by MAIL TODAY . “Our members would never accept such an illegal imposition of women having membership and voting rights over cricketing matters concerning the men’s team. In fact, this provision is downright absurd as far as the BCCI is concerned. The end result of these changes would dilute the voting rights of the existing members by 35 per cent [ 25+ 10 per cent] and that is reason enough to drop these provisions.” The national women’s body — the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) — merged with the BCCI about five years ago when the International Cricket Council asked all Test- playing countries to have one joint national body. The Board constituted a women’s committee with the BCCI secretary heading it.
Some of the top women players and administrators say that the BCCI’s step-motherly attitude towards them continues unabated even as they flayed the Board’s rejection of the women’s quota. “The BCCI constitution says that one of its jobs is promotion of cricket; it doesn’t say promotion of only men’s game. So, going by that, we can also stand up and say what the men are doing in the BCCI,” a member of the women’s committee told MAIL TODAY on condition of anonymity.
Another member said their only task is to send proposals to the Board and then wait for their fate.
“We don’t know what the BCCI does for us. All we do is discuss among our committee members and send proposals to them. We can’t directly go to the BCCI officials.
We need to take appointments to meet them. And if I make a complaint in writing about something, I’ll be removed,” she said.
The ministry also wants all NSFs to publish on their websites, besides other information, measures taken to prevent sexual harassment of women.
BCCI claims sexual harassment doesn’t occur in Indian cricket and it would not in future too.
“Sexual harassment of women in cricket is unheard of. No such complaint has ever been received.
However, the BCCI has adequate wherewithal to deal with any such complaint if raised in the future,” writes Jagdale. “In fact, for the women’s cricket team the coach, manager and physiotherapist are always women. Hence, the possibility of such a complaint is also ruled out in the case of the BCCI.”
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