Sania Mirza wants change of attitude towards women in sports

Noting that being a woman celebrity is the hardest task in India, ace tennis player Sania Mirza today called for change in attitude among the people and asked sportswomen to stand up and fight for themselves.

"I think being a woman celebrity is the hardest thing in India.... People will ask many things, what you wear, how you speak, when you will have a baby and other things," Sania said while participating in a talk show here.

Speaking on 'Women in sports, the way ahead', Sania asked women sportspersons to look beyond small things and first change their own attitude.

"When a woman wants to do something on her own way, she is criticised, dubbed as a rebel."

"I (too) was stated an arrogant. However, I stuck to my guns and today I am at this place. We have to fight in order to move forward in this men's world," Sania said.

Advising women sportspersons not to pay any heed to such criticism, she stressed on the need for change in the attitude of individuals, media and nation at large for the growth and development of women in sports.

Mentioning how everybody talked about the cricketers of both India and Australia when their ODI was washed away due to rains in Cuttack, she said, "I have never seen anybody writing about the same thing in any women sports."

"People used to ask me when I will have a baby. But, they do not ask the same question to my husband (Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik)," Sania said.

Stating that she was born in a family of two girls, Sania said she has never felt like other girls in the sports.

"Attitude needs to change," she said calling upon parents to support their daughters in order to allow them to grow in their own way.

Replying to a question on moral policing in sports, Sania said: "As I came to lime light, media asked me many questions.

A lot many moral policing.. wear this, wear that, why a T-shirt. Everybody has the right to form their opinions and I have the right to ignore them."