Special to Express | ‘Today we can stand without fear, look Brij Bhushan in the eye, and tell him — we are not going anywhere’: Vinesh Phogat

Right from the morning of Friday, May 10, my fellow wrestlers and I were waiting to know what happens in court. We had logged in online but the connection had snapped for a while. Later in the afternoon, it was someone from our team of lawyers who informed Sakshi (Malik) that charges have been framed. I was at training when I got the news.

The framing of charges (sexual harassment and outraging modesty of women) against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a win for us but our battle will continue in court. Today we can stand without fear, our head held high, look him in the eye, the man we were afraid of for so many years. Brij Bhushan has got the message that we are not going anywhere until women wrestlers get justice.

The framing of charges also sends a strong message that women can take on powerful men and they don’t have to be afraid. Protesting against someone so powerful was not easy, it was a daily battle and there were so many powerful people who wanted us to fail.

There was also a negative campaign against us at all stages of our protests, be it when we were at Jantar Mantar and after that, too. Brij Bhushan had initially even said that if one woman comes forward and says that she faced sexual harassment, he was ready to hang himself.

What happened to following up on that statement? He now keeps changing his stance.

We were worried about him using his powerful connections to put pressure on the system but our lawyer had told us not to worry. The BJP has given his son a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. That shows that they still support Brij Bhushan. I can say that the day Brij Bhushan does not have the backing of the government at the Centre and loses power, there will be many more girls who will come forward and complain about him.

File Photo of security personnel detaining wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat during a protest march towards the new Parliament building, in New Delhi. (Amit Mehra)

We did get support but there were a lot of people who have turned a blind eye to what Brij Bhushan has done. We can’t do anything about them, we can’t wake them up and make them see facts.

The criticism of us wrestlers who protested has continued even after we stopped protesting at Jantar Mantar. It happens even when I am competing now. I didn’t win the 53 kg trials because I wanted to focus on 50 kg. I didn’t really go all out in 53 kg trials. Immediately, the IT cell went after me.

Even when Bajrang didn’t do well, the same thing happened. And when I do well, then these critics go silent. It is not easy when you get trolled or there are negative comments about you all over. Our whole life, we have competed with dignity and in a peaceful way. But because of the IT cell and trolls, there has been a build-up of negativity.

Some people believe we have been propped up because of politics. We can’t go and tell everyone that we have no agenda other than getting justice for women wrestlers, that we are not playing politics. I am not saddened by people who didn’t believe us or didn’t support us. I just feel they are people with closed minds and are not willing to seewhat the truth is.

Also, as an athlete, it was tough. I think most of the other sportspeople must have thought that we were mad to protest like we did in the heat and on the road. I hope with the framing of charges, their thought process has also changed. It was difficult because I was an active wrestler but had to give my energies towards ensuring the protests did not die down or were not sabotaged. Bajrang’s wrestling career suffered, I had to miss the Asian Games because of a surgery. We returned our awards and Sakshi had to retire in protest after the WFI election results.

But we also had positive developments along the way. Initially, we were not sure how the police would conduct their probe, but they did a good job.

There are other heartening developments, too. I am not sure if it is because we raised our voice about sexual harassment of women wrestlers, but recently a similar issue happened in football and the girls who were affected spoke up. Be it politics or sports or any other field, I hope because of our protests, women have got the courage to speak up. And if we win this case, then it will have a positive impact for women around the country.

(Vinesh Phogat is a World Championship, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medalist. She has won a quota for the Paris Olympics. She was at the forefront of the protests demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh after six women wrestlers filed sexual harassment complaints against him at the Connaught Place police station in April 2023.)

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