More than 150 Indian bloggers have joined in to highlight the harassment of women on Indian streets. Why should anyone have to bear indignity because of gender?

I have had my women friends speak on harassment and leering they endure. Not being a woman, I am not the right person to speak from personal experience on the issue; only a woman can truly express how she feels on the issue. But I am all for equality and am strongly behind the intentions of the cause. So I would like to talk about the state of equality in sports.

Most sports have far less following for the women's game compared to the men's game. Other than tennis, how many games can you think of where you can recount names of women athletes? It's not like they're not playing worse or trying not as hard, right?

So why is there hardly a following for women's sports like football, cricket, and basketball? Apart from the lack of general interest of people, the participation of women is also far behind because of society at large. Indian, Pakistani women are discouraged to play in the sun as it is apparently going to cause their skin to become darker, hence ugly. People don't want to marry dark women. White skin is supposedly more beautiful. India does not have the WNBA but the Women's Railways Basketball team has just as dedicated and sincere players.

Most of those who do manage to play the game have to retire way before they reach their prime. Pressure from parents and society to marry is too much to resist beyond a point. These problems are specifically worse in the subcontinent. When sports people sacrifice marriage, kids in many countries, in the subcontinent such bold decisions are looked down upon rather than being applauded.

I was watching a small segment on television which highlighted how young the current Pakistani Women's cricket team is. A former captain might still have been captain if she had not married. If an athlete represents her country, I would imagine that shouldn't be a reason to be off the team. The husband should be supportive after, marriage rather than rule out the woman following her passion.

If some one is able to defeat the social barriers, or is lucky not to encounter them, there is the financial barrier. There is hardly any money in most men's sports. The situation is far worse where the women are concerned. Despite all this, an India has managed P.T. Usha and Sania Mirza. It is ironic that most women athletes in India come from poor back grounds. The higher the social strata, the bigger the taboo of a woman sports person.