By Rojina Kandel
According to the Cambridge dictionary, sports is a game, competition or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules for enjoyment and/or as a job. Leaving the gender biases; it can be stated that sports is good for girls and boys both regarding their physical, mental, social and financial growth.
In the earlier period, girls were not allowed in fact discouraged to get engaged in sports especially outdoor sports, like martial arts, football etc. But as time passed by; the societies of the world, especially in the societies of Asian countries, people started recognizing the importance of sports in girl’s life. There are lots of good impacts of encouraging girls in sports, it boosts their physical and mental well-being, empowering them to challenge gender stereotypes. Also, sports provide a platform for girls to develop life skills, including leadership, teamwork and resilience, which are invaluable for their personal and professional growth.
Following are the points or the benefits for girls which elaborate on why should girls be encouraged in sports:
High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy; more likely to get better grades in school and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.
Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
While playing sports, girls and women have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports.
As little as four hours of exercise a week may reduce a teenage girl’s risk of breast cancer by up to 60%; breast cancer is a disease that afflicts one out of every eight American women (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1994).
Rules of sport, often complex, teach us to think tactically. Playing different sports encourages women/men to think one step ahead of their opponents. A footballer in a penalty shoot-out has to make tactical decisions under immense pressure. And that psychological pressure translates to the business world when time-sensitive choices need to be made independently.
Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal-setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviors–critical skills necessary for success in the workplace. In an economic environment where the quality of our children’s lives will be dependent on two-income families, our daughters can not be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than our sons. It is no accident that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “Tomboys” – having played sports.
Similarly, the following fast facts also indicate that girls should be encouraged in sports:
According to a BBC Sport Survey, up to 83% of sports now offer the same amount of prize money for men and women. But in the 17% that don’t, the difference runs into the millions.
Annually, boys get 1.13 million more sporting opportunities than girls.
4% of the total commercial investment in sports goes into women’s sports, despite a 2018 Nielsen report revealing that 84% of general sports fans have an interest in women’s sports.
In the Forbes 2020 top 50 highest-paid athletes, there is one woman, Naomi Osaka, sitting at number 29.
Coaches in women’s team sports at the college level earn 63 cents for every dollar earned by head coaches of men’s teams.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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