Making sports accessible for all

Context: The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics was a watershed moment for Indian sports. A paralympic gold medal was won by a female Indian athlete for the first time. To build on this success, it is important to provide more opportunities and an enabling environment for greater participation of women and persons with disabilities in sport.

What are the barriers faced in promoting sports?

There are several challenges which can harm the inclusive legacy of the 2020 Paralympics:

1. COVID-19 pandemic: Data from UNESCO’s worldwide survey of school physical education show that some 70% of physical education teachers consider their students’ physical and mental health to have worsened during the pandemic, with children with disabilities most affected.
2. Low budget allocation for physical education and sport.
3. Discriminations based on gender and disability: Social and cultural barriers restrict the participation of women and girls in sport.

What is the ‘Fit for Life’ flagship initiative?

It is an initiative of UNESCO. It is designed to activate smart investments in impactful sport policies, school curricula, and grassroots participation to scale up effective solutions tackling rising physical inactivity, mental health issues, social exclusion, and inequalities. Complementing initiatives such as Fit India campaign and Khelo India, it can lead to healthier communities.

Way forward: Sports can help promote inclusion and equality. It can help in COVID-19 response and recovery strategies. Creating an inclusive sports culture requires effective policies, progressive curricula, focused on quality physical education, and well-trained physical education professionals.

Source: This post is created based on the article “Making sports accessible for all” published on 6^th April 2022 in The Hindu.