The Summer Olympics for India has been a tumultuous one. It began on a controversial note, with Narsingh Pancham Yadav failing a drug test, then champions like Leander Paes and Abhinav Bindra failing to win any medals and finally Shobha De’s rather unfortunate comment about the athletes. However, things took a turn for the better, when Dipa Karmakar attempted the ‘Produnova Vault’ also known as the Death Vault and she came in fourth. Then Sakshi Malik went on to win a bronze medal in wrestling and finally P.V Sindhu won a silver medal in badminton.

People all over India were ecstatic! We finally achieved something at the Olympics. However, that was not the only reason for joy! Coincidentally, the two people who did manage to win medals turned out to be women. Yes. We couldn’t have asked for better inspirations as their win overcame difficult odds like missing equipment and, of course, age-old perceptions. However, as female strength is gaining prominence we tend to celebrate and promote it with feminist politics.

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When PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik won the silver medal and bronze, people around started talking about how they did India proud, which is why female foeticide or infanticide should stop. But one’s right to live does not come with the condition of being an achiever. PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik’s win should be an inspiration for thousands of others not because they are women - but because of their hard work and belief.

They achieved whatever they did against the expectations of billions of people.

What we should harp on is that Dipa Karmakar attempted a form of sport that is not so popular in India, that Sakshi Malik took upon wrestling (not too ‘feminine’ a sport), and that Sindhu would travel several kilometres every morning to practice. Dipa was the first person to represent India in Gymnastics after 52 years. However, there were memes shared about how she was wearing indecent clothes during her performance. Sakshi Malik was compared with Anushka Sharma’s character in the recently released movie, Sultan. People said that Sakshi Malik was what one became if one did not marry. Because apparently, once a woman is married, her professional career must come to an end. In the meanwhile, a Facebook page shared a picture of Sindhu participating in some sort of religious ceremony holding pots on top of her head. The picture read - 'Sorry feminists, sorry liberals. Modernity and culture can go hand in hand. She can smash shuttles in the court, and she can carry culture on her head at the same time. Your Propaganda is a Sham!'

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PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, and Dipa Karmakar have won medals for India at a time we thought that there was no hope. However, that is not enough for people. Women winning medals have completely thrown people off. People are going out of their way to prove to the world that successful, independent women will have to somehow conform to the notions of what a ‘traditional’ woman should be like.

Otherwise, we just cannot celebrate their success.

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Why is it still so difficult for Indians to accept that women, married or not married, have the right to become achievers? That they have the right to live even if they cannot provide for their family? Why can we still not applaud a successful and independent woman who does not conform to the norms of a ‘traditional’ woman? Why can we not see them as achievers instead of women who are achievers?

Dipa Karmakar, P.V Sindhu, and Sakshi Malik were all backed by their families and their coaches. Bisbheswar Nandi, Pullela Gopichand, and Ishwar Dahiya, coaches of these athletes, played a huge role in their achievements.

This just proves that everyone plays an important role and everyone’s help is required and that no matter what our gender is, we are all equal.

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Unfortunately, even today, people are considering being athletes as a male territory where these three women simply created miracles. However, these athletes did not want to create any miracle. They just did what they love doing and have always wanted to do and it is high time everyone realises this.

Yes. We should rejoice in the fact that they have won medals and rejoice our new champions and adorn their achievements. But we should not just make it about women and trivialise the hard work they put in. This need for bringing in feminism is rather misplaced - like the Indian officials at Rio. If we valorise every achievement a woman makes and fill it with a cultural gap, then feminism becomes a project of rewarding and moral sorting.

At the end of the day, this will just naturalise and enforce the very power system it claims to challenge.

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