Pakistan's first female anchor, Marina Iqbal slams male reporter for wrongful accusation

Even though women have me huge inros in cricket, re is still a deep chasm between how men and women are perceived in sport. Far from being on an equal footing, it is extremely rare for women to find a place in commentary teams or on-field presentation teams, especially in sub-continent.

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Women in cricket panels

It is only in recent years that organizers have me an effort to have at least one female member in commentary box and as a part of mid-match presentation team. In India, first to break this ceiling was probably Mandira Bedi in 2003. Bedi's entry into cricket was subject of much controversy, with even leing media outlets labelling her presence unnecessary and unneeded. Most took issue with way she dressed, lamenting fall of cricket from something serious to a mere spectacle.

This treatment of women has been rectified to a major degree in recent times. With dition of Mayanti Langer, Isa Guha, Seema Jaswal, Sanjana Ganesan, Priyarshini Chatterjee, Bhavana Balakrishnan and Vindhya Medapati to ir roster of commentators and presenters, cricketing bodies have finally given women a voice in cricket. However, this still hasn't me m exempt from comments on ir attire. 

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Commentator Marina Iqbal hits back at reporter's unfounded claim

revolution to give women a voice in cricket has just begun in Pakistan. Pakistan's first female commentator, Marina Iqbal, an ex-Pakistan team cricket player was on receiving end of some sexist comments by a fellow commentator a few days ago. Qir Khawaja, who is a sports reporter/anchor of NEO News, took to Twitter to question legality of Marina Iqbal's decision to wear heels on ground. He shared a photo of Marina in heels during a pre-match interview and wrote: "Is it legal to walk on pitch wearing heeled shoes ??? Feedback needed" 

 Marina Iqbal was quick to hit back, sharing anor photo of herself wearing flats while she was on ground. 

Khawaja replied, writing: "Only opinion was taken but some people have taken it to heart .... thank you, Marina, you have clarified matter .. by way, your flat shows were not visible in picture which caused misunderstanding." However, tone of his initial tweet reveals that question may not have been as innocent as he claims. Also notable is fact that Khawaja has never played professional cricket. 

Marina Iqbal me her debut for Pakistan cricket team in 2009. In her career, she featured in 36 ODIs and 42 T20Is, scoring 436 and 340 runs in two formats respectively. She played her final game against New Zealand in 2017.

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Image Credits: Qir Khawaja Twitter