The unfiltered vulnerability that cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues displayed after steering her country to a historic semi-final win over Australia last week is a reminder for those in high-pressure fields that it’s okay to bare all
Jemimah Rodrigues reacts after India's victory in the ICC Women's World Cup semifinal ODI cricket match on October 30. PIC/PTI
By the time you read this column, you would have devoured at least 50 news reports about Jemimah Rodrigues and her recent heroics. We’d also know if our women in blue won the ODI World Cup. Irrespective of the result, and the many superstars who will shine bright during the final, it will be tough to forget Rodrigues’s spectacular contribution in the memorable semi-final against Australia last Thursday that took India to the final. But equally important was the no-holds-barred, raw emotions that were on display, while she celebrated with her teammates, family and later, at the press conference. Her openness to speak up about her internal struggles with self-doubt, stress levels, mental fragility and the pressure she had been experiencing for years was remarkable. The tears flowed and how! With it, we can only imagine the immense relief that she must have felt, having brought India one step closer to women’s cricketing glory.
While the mothership of opinion (social media) was raving and celebrating her exploits, and deservingly so, it was good to see a few big names across Bollywood (Deepika Padukone) and cricket (VVS Laxman) applaud her for openly speaking up about her battles with mental health. As captain Harmanpreet Kaur had once revealed in a dressing room video, “Jemi is already a senior on the team at the age of 25!” By now, it’s common knowledge that she made her India debut at 17 for a T20 match. Imagine the uphill task for the young cricketer: The ups and downs of being dropped from the team, low scores, public scrutiny and media glare, and yes, the controversy, where Khar Gymkhana had revoked her complimentary membership. Despite the constant gaze and countless inner battles, her exterior was quite the opposite. Here was this cheery, Insta-friendly, guitar-sporting, singing-dancing Bandra girl, with a supportive family, who played cricket with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy shop every time she wore India’s colours.
How was it possible that the same person was experiencing such tremendous, relentless pressure, sadness and self-doubt? Then, last Thursday, the ‘other’ side was finally visible in all honesty. She spoke up about the skeletons in her mind in her raw, unedited avatar, and even pre-warned during the press interaction that she was going to sound vulnerable. It was remarkable honesty from an Indian sportsperson, male or female. It not only opened the floodgates for her own revelations on the mental health front, but she, hopefully, made it easier for countless other Indian sportswomen and young girls facing insurmountable pressure on the personal and professional fronts.
One hopes that with Rodrigues’s candid confessions, she has normalised this part of being a woman in the spotlight. It was commendable to see her unedited responses, without even once thinking of the fallout — of being dubbed an emotional wreck, a weepie, a softie and similar tags that women tend to get labelled with as soon as they shed tears and display their vulnerabilities. And in Rodrigues’s case, it was on a public forum, and that too, on several occasions in the course of one eventful, memorable evening.
The larger dialogue that must stir conversations is the need to ensure that Indian society is able to offer trusting ecosystems where young girls and women feel secure to be able to speak up, and realise that it is okay to do so with being judged, or fearing the outcome. Secondly, and equally important, is the need to reach out when you need help, to discuss mental health. Jemimah thanked her teammates in the dressing room for being around her like a rock, apart from her supportive, tight-knit family, of course. Cities like ours can be cruel; a crowded, overwhelming metropolis where you can feel isolated, stranded on an island, and where the rat race can leave you knackered and mentally wounded in ways that even you wouldn’t know it’s happening to you.
As this year reaches its last leg, and resolutions are drafted, let’s all make a promise to seek out, take that effort and time to show up and be around the people who matter in your lives. Not once, but check on them over time. And for those who are struggling to speak up, we hope that Jemimah Rodrigues has opened the door and prodded that voice within, to remind you that it’s alright to ask for help when the going gets tough. The first step will always feel the hardest, but once it’s taken, you will see the difference.
mid-day’s Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city’s sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her.
She tweets @bombayana. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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