'Women's Safety First!: Olympic Hero Manu Bhaker's Powerful Stance on Gender Equality in Sports

Manu Bhaker has emerged as India's Olympic hero, having made the country very proud by winning two bronze medals in the Paris Olympics. Manu Bhaker earned bronze medals in the Women's singles 10m air pistol and Mixed Team events in the same shooting series, partnering Sarabjot Singh. 

Thus, Manu Bhaker became the first athlete from Independent India to win two Olympic medals in a single Games. She was aiming for even more fame, becoming the first Indian to win three individual Olympic golds. However, her dream was cut short as she placed fourth in the Women's 25m pistol, missing out on a record third medal by one shot. She created history with her impeccable performance in the Paris Olympics 2024 and made India proud; many more heroics are anticipated from Bhaker in future years. 

Also Read: 'I don’t see...': Double Olympic Medalist Manu Bhaker Reflects on Being Called a Legend at Age 22

Manu Bhaker made a huge statement about gender equality in sports 

Emphasising the need of women's safety and empowerment, Manu Bhaker fervently discussed gender equality in sports in an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network. She spoke for support and development of women's freedom as she emphasised the necessity of women feeling safe and free in following their aspirations. Regarding gender pay parity, Bhaker said she thought equal pay for equal work was a basic principle that had to be followed in all kinds of employment. Manu Bhaker said: 

“Women's safety first. First of all, if all women feel safe, then they will be, you know, mothers will not restrict their daughters. Actually feeling free to let them do what they want to do. And then second thing, second thing would be like, marketing, promoting, this and actually telling them that they have future, they should be independent.

I am not very well aware of that. I have read a few articles on, like, offices and how I know, you know, the office environment. So I mean, see, if two people are doing the same job they should be paid. That's it. That's all. Like that's a basic thing I Can say”

Also Read: 'It Was a Challenging Time': Manu Bhaker Reflects on Lessons Learned from Tokyo Olympics

Manu Bhaker also spoke about her inspiration and credited her coach for helping her in several spheres, including public speaking and self-presentation. She underlined a committed attitude to her athletic growth while discussing her next target: returning to fundamental training before entering future events. She added: 

So my coach is, just as he's the kind of person who tells me to, who would teach me different things. You know, for all the things like, you know, athletes. Because we are undermining all of these things. It's not necessary. My coach is like, you have to be, you know, you should know how to give a speech how to carry myself.

I'm not really looking to any competition. Because I'll be on track for now, and then I will start back again with my basic training and after some time of training, and then I'll start.