Left with no option, but to approach court for justice, says Vinesh Phogat

Wrestlers have been protesting against WFI president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.

Vinesh Phogat expressed her discontentment with the Oversight Committee’s role in investigating the allegations of sexual harassment made against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP Member of Parliament Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.

The Sports Ministry established an Oversight Committee to probe the allegations of sexual misconduct by Singh and other coaches. A boxing legend and one of the most iconic female figures in Indian sports, MC Mary Kom, is the head of the Oversight Committee. There was a one-month deadline for the probe to finish after its initiation on January 23, 2023.

The protest

In January 2023, top wrestlers from the country, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, gathered at Jantar Mantar in protest. They alleged that the women wrestlers have been facing sexual misconduct by the WFI president and coaches for several years.

No action

The deadline for the probe has expired and the findings from the investigation are yet to be made public. Touching upon this, Vinesh Phogat says, “Why is there secrecy over the findings of the Oversight Committee and the details about how they went about the probe? Women wrestlers have shown the courage to speak about what they faced but it seems like their words don’t matter.”

“We have raised a very sensitive issue that concerns the safety of women wrestlers. We have lost faith in the committee. We received some assurances from the government but they were not fulfilled too. We do not know the status of the report filed by the committee as well. Every time we ask what is the status and finding of the Oversight Committee report, there is no response from anyone,” she further said to the Indian Express. 

Vinesh Phogat indicates that they have no other option but to seek justice from the courts since the Oversight Committee is unable to take action. “We are left with no other option but to approach the court in our fight for justice. Stepping back is not an option now,” she said.

Avoidance by the authorities

Vinesh Phogat also says that people who have power are not taking action, forcing them to think about knocking on the doors of courts for help. “We tried to speak to sports minister Anurag Thakur, but there was no response from him. I tried two to three times, and Bajrang did too. We tried calling members of the committee, including its head Mary Kom. But she did not take our calls. We don’t know who will give us justice?” she said in this context.

Furthermore, she also spoke about how Brijbhushan Sharan Singh is still influencing the functioning of WFI despite stepping aside. She said, “He was sidelined just for show, internally he was involved in everything and all the decisions being taken were his. Be it trials or camps or a selection of coaches. Whether it was for political reasons or to fool us, we don’t know. We placed our trust in the government. Unfortunately, it feels they (Oversight Committee) haven’t been neutral. The committee is under the sports ministry.”

This is an unfortunate turn of events where Indian athletes and their voice is not being heard. It leaves a dangerous impression on the budding athletes of the country, especially women, about their safety and faith in authorities.