Salman Khan? Really? Sania Mirza opting for Sultan star to launch her autobiography is disappointing

It is an established fact that Sania Mirza is one of India’s greatest sportsperson. I will go on to say that she is the biggest tennis star in the country and an undisputed role model for young people, especially women. Full disclosure: As a young woman, I looked up to her right from the start of her meteoric rise in tennis in the mid-2000s, ans my admiration only grew for both her on and off-court behavior. On field, I remember her reaching the fourth round of the US Open back in 2005 and how I hoped and prayed she would win. An Indian woman in the last 16 in singles at a Grand Slam was a major achievement, and though she lost to then world number one Maria Sharapova, it was a significant step forward in her record-breaking journey. Off field, I remember the teen in her tee-shirts with bold quote who was unapologetically herself and didn’t seem to give a damn about what people thought of her. I remember one particular incident — when she wore a tee that read ‘Well behaved women seldom made history’ and how I made a poster of that quote to inspire me. Over the years this admiration for Sania kept growing into immense pride and respect, especially with her her performances on the doubles circuit. Over the years, she was won six Grand Slams titles and 14 medals for India and is the world number one in women’s doubles. And then very recently there was her takedown of the Rajdeep Sardesai ’s sexist question on settling down. Here’s a snippet of their conversation in the interview: Rajdeep Sardesai: “Amidst all the celebrityhood, when is Sania going to settle down? Is it going to be in Dubai? Is it going to be in any other country? What about motherhood, building a family, I don’t see all that in the book, it seems like you don’t want to retire just yet to settle down?” Sania Mirza: “You sound disappointed. I’m not choosing motherhood over being number one in the world,” she said, adding, “but I’ll answer your question anyway. That’s the question I face all the time as a woman, that all women have to face – the first is marriage and then it’s motherhood. Unfortunately that’s when we’re settled, and no matter how many Wimbledons we win or number ones in the world we become, we don’t become settled. But eventually it will happen, not right now. And when it does happen I’ll be the first one to tell everybody when I plan to do that.” Here was an Indian woman who not only let her work speak for herself but also spoke up for her kind. And she made the rest of us very proud. [caption id=“attachment_2904952” align=“alignleft” width=“381”] Sania Mirza, right and Salman Khan during the release of Sania’s autobiography ‘Ace Against Odds’. AP[/caption] And then on Sunday, on her nationwide tour launching her autobiography Ace Against Odds (a fascinating read, might I add) actor Salman Khan was the one who launched it in Mumbai. Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan had launched the book in Hyderabad and Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra had launched it in Delhi. But the Mumbai launch by Salman Khan was the one that stood out. Because an icon of feminism in India had her autobiography launched by an actor who has set back the movement several steps with his words and deeds. Make no mistake, this in no way dilutes or lessens the respect or admiration of Sania. But it does make one wonder, was there no one else who she could have invited? Granted, Salman is one of the biggest stars in Bollywood, but would the occasion, or the book, be lessened if it was launched by an actor with slightly less success at the box-office? Or how about a female star, like Parineeti Chopa, who was part of the Delhi launch? Or maybe even a fellow sportsperson? Salman Khan’s treatment of women, in his films, and to some extent in real life, has left a lot to be desired. Even before his recent system that lead to a massive furor — comparing his exertion after shooting for the physically intense role of a wrestler in Sultan to that of a rape victim — Salman has not been known as a gender-sensitive personality. Yes, he did reportedly rectify the infamous rape comment saying, “I don’t think I should have [said that]. It feels like the most difficult…I couldn’t take steps.” But as an earlier article by _Firstpost_ pointed out, Salman’s discriminatory attitude towards women is not new. “A_n unintentional faux pas, and an apology later, we should be focusing on a far bigger problem: Salman’s attitude towards women. “You don’t need us to tell you that it is problematic… Salman Khan’s continuous objectification of women has not changed with time, and isn’t likely to, even as we change our topic of outrage. He will still think of women as a vice…”_ Which brings us back to the original point – how hard would it be to take a stand for feminism, if not against his comments. His co-star in Sultan, Anushka Sharma was clear to distance herself from the comments, even if she was unable to take a firm stand against it. Upon being asked what her thoughts were on his analogy, she said , “A lot has been spoken about it. We obviously understand that it was rather insensitive, something that I was a bit surprised by. What it made me realise that each and every one of us has a responsibility of what we say not just in public but even among friends. Celebrities more so. But Sania Mirza had the means to make this stand, as she has several times before. She made veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai apologise on air after calling him out on his sexist question. She has long been known for fearlessly speaking her mind — be it back in 2012 when she accused the All India tennis Association (AITA) of using her as bait to please Leander Paes after she was forced to play Mixed Doubles with him at the 2012 London Olympics, or be it in her personal life and her marriage to Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik. Not to mention, her passion towards promoting and helping the cause of women athletes in India. At her book launch in Hyderabad, she had said, “We want more girls, more women to come forward. I think, 10 years ago, it was difficult to name three, four or five women achievers who have been exceptional at different sports in our country, but now we have Mary Kom (boxer), we have a Saina Nehwal, P V Sindhu (both badminton), we have so many girls who are doing great. That shows how forward we have come and there is always room for improvement.” All in all, it was quite disappointing to see Sania Mirza have Salman Khan launch her autobiography. At the risk of being hounded by his online fans, I’ll still say that Sania Mirza should have had anybody but Salman Khan. But that’s been done now, and all we hope is that just like her book, she braves all odds to return with an Olympic medal for India.