NEW DELHI:  Sania Mirza might be the world tennis number one in doubles and one of the highest paid athletes in India but the questions she repeatedly has to face — in a professional capacity — are tied to her gender.
In a media talk, the tennis ace revealed she was asked about her family plans during a press conference, two days after she won the Wimbledon title.
“I feel it’s extremely disrespectful to ask someone when they are having a child. Just because I am a public figure, it doesn’t give anyone a right to ask me what happens in my bedroom. I really don’t think so,” said Sania.
Claiming that people assume that a career-oriented woman “doesn’t really care about family,” the tennis ace said she is asked such questions, “All the time.”
Further, Sania said, “We live in a man’s world. A lot of people might come out and say we don’t but the fact of the matter is that sometimes when you are a woman you have to fight a lot harder for things. It has got nothing to do with this side of the world or India, it has got to do with the world.”
“It’s only in recent past that we have had equal prize money for both men and women. So it doesn’t just happen in India, like people like to believe,” she added.
Sania went on to say that when a woman comes out and says that this how she feels, she’s either labelled as “rebellious or too outgoing or career-minded.”
“But there are no such words for men. When a man wants to go and achieve something, he’s labelled as so ambitious,” Sania said during the interview.