The Goan Swimming
Association has decided to shortlist
a female coach for the swimmers of the state. Afra Shaikh, the shortlisted
coach is a former national medallist and is expected to be appointed by the
government. This follows the arrest of the coach Surajit Ganguly for allegedly
raping a minor trainee.
A rape case was filed
against the chief coach of Goa state swimming team after photos and a video of
him allegedly molesting a minor girl emerged online. The photos of the alleged
incident had prompted Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju to step in and promise
stringent action against him. The decision by the state department to appoint a
female coach was made to assuage the fears of parents whose children were part
of the swimming team. This however begs the question does one hire a coach who
is the best in the business, someone who is well versed in the latest
techniques and equipped to bring out the best in the wards training under him
or her. Or should one hire someone who satisfies everyone’s idea of being safe.
Or is this move by the association a one off given the peculiar situation
present following this unfortunate incident. Views expressed by the few people
willing to speak were interesting.
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VM Prabhudessai
Executive Director, The Sports Authority of Goa said it was important to give
anyone who had been shortlisted for the job or just come onto the assignment.
He said “It is obvious that the concerned authorities have thought before
initiating this move. The shortlisted candidate has undertaken one year of training
and yes, it is up to her to prove her mettle. A lot of people will watch her
performance. We have to be fair to her”. He went on to say that people in that
position had to be mature and think carefully of the impact of one’s actions.
This decision to
appoint a female coach may assuage the feelings of some people who felt that if
a female was in charge such incidents would not have taken place. In the past
several female candidates have applied for a coaching post at the SAG but nothing
came of it. Till Afra’s appointment SAG did not have a single female coach for
swimming.
Yolanda Sousa
Kammermeier presently one of the state’s most important artists and a former
super athlete however had a different take on the entire matter. She said “It
is important we have a proper check of the person who is hired for such
positions. Instances likes this are very unfortunate. You cannot blame
everybody because of the action of one. The person that needs to be hired has
to be one of calibre whether it is a man or woman should not matter. In this
case, is the lady who has been shortlisted, the best? The wards under her have
to get better, that is the only yardstick. It is very simple get a good coach”.
She felt this move was a stop gap arrangement given the sense of unease that
hung over the sport in the state. The authorities she said had to talk to the
young swimmers and get their feedback so as to understand what their experience
was like whether the coach was a male or a female. This meant the authorities
would be able to keep a track of the developments and could nip in the bud
anything that could lead to situations like what had happened.
Dr Meenacshi Martins
noted social activist and actor said that sexual abuse is not gender specific.
As long as the candidate is excellent, the sex of the candidate should not
matter. She commended the young girl for coming out which helped the
perpetrator get arrested. She said “It is important to create awareness amongst
victims and perpetrators or would be perpetrators that it is just not
acceptable. Today the boundaries have also loosened. Some may be ok with it to
further their career but others may not and they have to know where to go in
such situations. Education has to take place given the patriarchal traditional
attitudes that are at play. When sexual abuse takes place, it is usually during
one’s teens and it can be a traumatic experience for that person. The after
effects can wreck one’s life and it requires life-long counselling”.
Sneha
Bhandare mother of Samairah Bhandare a eleven-year-old squash player who
participated in the junior and sub junior national championships felt the
coaches appointed in any sport should be competent in their respective field
irrespective of gender. She said “If gender is made the criteria then we may
tend to ignore a really good coach and the training will suffer. However, in
close contact sport, it’s better to have female supervision specially when
training minor girls. Finally, it’s also imperative to do background checks when
appointing coaches. Parents too have to be alert and speak to their wards not
only with respect to their coaches but about people in general and how to
safeguard themselves”.
