NCW Plans National Dialogue on Support for Women Athletes
New Delhi, Nov 2: The National Commission for Women (NCW) will convene a national dialogue on women in sports at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday. The consultation, called 'Khel Shakti', is being held in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The chief guest at the event will be Raksha Khadse, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports. NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar will also be in attendance. The officials are expected to stress the need for firm institutional commitment to expanding women's role in sports, protecting their safety, ensuring equal treatment and nurturing women leaders in the sector.
The dialogue is designed to bring together important players from the sports world to discuss the obstacles women athletes encounter. Participants will also look at practical steps to make the institutional framework for their safety, welfare, participation and career advancement more robust.
India's sports scene has changed considerably, and women athletes now rank among the nation's most accomplished sportspersons in domestic and global competitions. Continued participation and excellence, however, need an environment that solves more than just the question of access to opportunities. Key concerns include nutrition, healthcare, safety, dignity, mental wellbeing, infrastructure, pay, maternity protection and representation in sports governance.
Among those invited are athletes, Olympians, sports administrators, coaches, representatives of national sports federations, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), experts in medicine and sports science, academics, civil society organisations and parents of women athletes. The gathering will give them a platform to examine these issues and frame recommendations that are workable, actionable and institutionally answerable.
The discussion will be built around three main themes: increasing women's participation and strengthening sports at the grassroots level; creating a safe, healthy and supportive atmosphere in sports; and advancing equality, career continuity and women's leadership.
The core focus will be on eliminating systemic barriers in sports and offering institutional support to women athletes throughout their careers. Through the initiative, the NCW aims to move the conversation from participation to sustained involvement, from individual achievement to athlete welfare, and from representation to meaningful institutional reform. The consultation hopes to help build a sports ecosystem in which women can pursue their dreams with safety, respect, equal opportunity and institutional backing.