Saree-Wearing Women Can Be Athletic Too: Gymnast From Viral Video
The gymnast has been training for 14 years and hails from Haryana’s Ambala.
Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
Watched the viral video of a woman performing a front flip in a blue saree? Now meet Parul Arora – a national-level gymnast – whose video has garnered more than half-a-million views on social media.
“We wanted to do something new and creative. My friend Michael Hoshyar Singh told me that I should flip in a saree. First, I thought how can anyone flip in a saree. For women, it is often a challenge to walk in a saree. But I accepted the challenge and tried it. The first one or two times I did the flip, I slipped and fell,” Arora told The Quint.
How the Costumes Gave Her Confidence a Boost
The gymnast has been training for 14 years and hails from Haryana’s Ambala. She says that successfully performing the flip in a saree made her try it out in different costumes – be it a dress, gown or a mundu.
Making a Feminist Statement by Defying Stereotypes
Narrating the reason behind her videos, Arora says that society judges women based on their clothes and often thinks that women wearing a saree are not athletic or powerful.
On Online Trolling & Her Message to Women
As her video became popular, Arora was at the receiving end of the usual trolling against women. When asked how she deals with such comments, the gymnast said that she chooses to ignore them.
“I want to tell those girls, whether they want to become a gymnast or not, whatever you are doing be dedicated and work hard. Everyone faces challenges, take them in your stride and move forward,” she said.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)