Are India's Sports Hostels Safe For Women?

Representational photo: Athletics.

What could have gone so horribly wrong that a talented 15-year-old athlete had to end her life after she faced harassment at the Sports Authority of India facility where she was a trainee? A lot.

The nature of harassment is not known yet, and authorities and investigating agencies have swung into action after one athlete committed suicide, and three more were in critical condition at the Allepuzha Medical College. Initial reports from Kerala suggest it is a case of ragging of junior athletes by the seniors. "The girls were tortured to a great extent. They were made to wash clothes, utensils, even undergarments of others," a relative of the deceased athlete told NDTV from Allepuzha, in Kerala, where the incident happened. ('Most Shocking and Tragic Incident in SAI History')

Hostels are like second home to athletes. Once they're part of a training camp, it's mostly just one day in the week that athletes get a chance to step out of their hostel premises. In such a situation, the authorities must ensure that these facilities are equipped in every possible way to address all issues that an athlete may face during the course of his/her stay.

"While our elite athletes do have such facilities, it is true that there is nothing in terms of a counselor or mental trainer in all our centres," Injeti Srinivas, Director General of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) told NDTV. "There is usually a warden, and ideally the child should be able to address all his/her problems to the warden"

The aforesaid facility (Water Sports Centre in Allepuzha) has had the same lady warden for the last four years, and as per officals, there was never any complaint against her. (Kerala Police Recovers Suicide Note)

However, if a teenager and her friends had to take the extreme step of eating a poisonous fruit and ending their lives, clearly all wasn't well. And there's more than just fact finding that investigating agencies and sports officials need to do.

"If the child was home, she would have told her parents, and they would've guided her," former international athlete Reeth Abraham told NDTV. "Clearly she or the other girls were not comfortable in that environment. I have seen a lot of sports hostels across the country. That's not where I would send my child to stay for months."

Hostels usually provide meals to athletes, and if they show a reasonable bit of promise, the children can train under a coach as well. That's often a big enough reason for parents, especially those from low income backgrounds, to push their children into sports.

Like we've seen so many times in the past, it's taken a disaster, a young life in this case, for authorities to wake up. Irrespective of what's the remedial action that's action, will parents now be apprehensive about sending their children to sports hostels across the country?