Female bodybuilders break down barriers in India

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By CGTN’s Ravinder Bawa

Women in India are blurring stereotypes by joining a male-dominated sport: bodybuilding. They face many challenges, but they have also earned much respect.

These women haven’t become model athletes just for fame or fitness, muscling their way into the sport to protect themselves from sexual violence.

Female bodybuilders in India have ignored criticism and being laughed at, standing their ground in the sport.

Bodybuilding is one way to break down stereotypes. /CGTN Screenshot

For some women, such as Geeta Saini and Mamta Yunman, the journey has been tough. Breaking gender barriers was the biggest challenge for them.

“I know there are many girls from my state who practice bodybuilding. However, if you’re a girl doing this, you will face a lot of criticism from people. That is a challenge,” Saini said.

“It was only in 2014 that I could participate in this sport in my own country, when they introduced women’s bodybuilding as a category. That was the first time I felt that what I had chosen to do wasn’t wrong,” Yunman explained. “During competitions, I don’t think about the position I may finish in, as it gives me such courage and confidence to see so many women participating.”

Bodybuilding is one way to break down stereotypes. /CGTN Screenshot

More and more women have taken to fitness and bodybuilding in India. It carries an extra challenge for them, however, as they need to work harder to build muscles comparable to their male counterparts.

“More and more women are coming forward to take part in this sport. It’s not just the fitness element, but it can also help them become strong and be able to defend themselves,” Anup Singh, president of the Haryana Body Builder Association said.

It will take some time before the sport becomes common among women, but until then, many are overcoming milestone after milestone to make a path for others.

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