The Pakistan women's team, led by Fatima Sana, won just one game in the Women's T20 World Cup and crashed out of the tournament, failing to reach the semi-finals. There is plenty of criticism directed at the players for their below-par performance and for not being able to challenge the big teams like India, Australia and South Africa in Group A. While much of the criticism is warranted, there is a certain section that continues to make sexist remarks towards the players, and these unsavoury remarks have now caught the attention of Sana Mir, the former Pakistan captain.
Mir took to Instagram to share a video, condemning the personal abuse, saying women cricketers are judged more harshly as compared to the male counterparts. She also urged fans to offer constructive criticism rather than targeting players based on gender.
"The thing that pains me the most right now is our mindset. When we discuss women, it's about the perspective we adopt, the way we talk about them, and the extent to which we try to break their confidence whenever they make a mistake. Unless we change this mindset, we as a society will never move forward,” Mir said in a video on Instagram.
“Some people did support us, but what we've mostly seen is players being bashed. More importantly, they're being targeted because they're women. Haven't our men's teams lost World Cups? Haven't their performances gone up and down as well? Yet when it comes to women, the conversation shifts to feminism and all sorts of stereotypes about how women behave,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}“Some people did support us, but what we've mostly seen is players being bashed. More importantly, they're being targeted because they're women. Haven't our men's teams lost World Cups? Haven't their performances gone up and down as well? Yet when it comes to women, the conversation shifts to feminism and all sorts of stereotypes about how women behave,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}‘Deeply troubling’
The former Pakistan captain also said that it is troubling to see how women are being viewed, saying criticism is part of sport but should never descend into sexist abuse or personal attacks.
“We, too, sit on sports shows and criticise performances, but have you ever heard a woman cricketer say about a male cricketer, 'He's better off making rotis in a tandoor; that's what he should be doing'? There's a way to speak about people. These players represent your country. They're your fellow human beings—they have minds, talent, and they've already proved themselves. So why speak about them in such a manner?” Mir said.
“The way women are viewed is deeply troubling. People create AI-generated videos, spread one lie after another about players, and even drag their families into it. This is the very mindset that suppresses women. And it's not just your women's cricket team that suffers because of it—your society suffers too. Your daughters aren't safe, your elders aren't safe, and no one is truly protected from the consequences of this mentality,” she added.
Pakistan won their last league-stage match against the Netherlands, finishing fifth in Group A, only ahead of the last-placed Dutch.