The story of the star sprinter Pinki Pramanik who fought all odds in her life about her gender discrimination and a rape taint which had tortured her mentally for over the past few years . Today ,she was stronger than before after clearing rape taint almost nine months ago .But , she still battles to get back on track .Eastern Railway, the star sprinter’s employer, is yet to respond to request sent in January for renewal of registration, leave to train .
Pinki Pramanik is an Indian track athlete who specialises in the400 metres and 800 metres . Pramanik had success with the national team, winning silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games , gold at the 2006 Asian games, and gold at the 2005 Asian Indoor Games . She won three gold medals at the 2006 South Asian Games , winning the 400 and 800 m events, as well as the relay.
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Pinki was accused by her live-in partner Anamika Acharya of being a male who raped her, which led to Pinki’s arrest on June 14, 2012 and an order for medical examination to confirm the gender was issued. She had been kept in custody for 25 days and forced to undergo a sex verification test to determine her gender Initial private tests claimed to show her to be male. Pramanik disagreed with these results and police ordered a separate government-led test as part of the trial. The results at the SSKM Government Hospital were inconclusive. The Court then directed a chromosome pattern test. In November 2012, the further medical tests were reported as showing that Pinki is a “male pseudo-hermaphrodite “.However the medical report has revealed that Pramanik is incapable of having penetrative sex.Finally she was declared as a woman. She had appealed to the High Court in 2013.It was a big victory for Pinki Pramanik after the Calcutta High Court dropped all charges against the Asian Games gold medallist.
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Pinki got bail and the trial was to begin in a lower court. But that’s when Pinki, with the support of lawyers and gender activists, appealed to Calcutta High Court in 2013 for charges against her to be dropped.On september 2014, Justice Subrata Talukdar ordered that all charges framed against Prinki be quashed and the charge sheet has also been dropped.IT’S been nine months since the Calcutta High Court cleared Pinki Pramanik of rape charges levelled by another woman, but the 29-year-old sprinter says she is still facing discrimination based on assumptions about her gender.A day after the High Court cleared her name, Pramanik bought a new pair of training shoes. However, she hasn’t been able to take the first step in her comeback — renew her registration with the state association, a basic requirement for any officially sanctioned athletics meet, or get leave to train.Her employer, Eastern Railway, is yet to respond to her application submitted in January requesting renewal of her registration with the West Bengal Athletics Association (WBAA), and Special Casual Leave to train for competitions.
“I have not received any response to a formal request I had made to the sports officer nearly six months back,” said Pramanik, adding that her job as a Head Travelling Ticket Examiner of the Sealdah Division demands that she is on duty from 2 pm-10 pm.“Though I have always been treated respectfully at my workplace and have received much support from my colleagues at the Sealdah station during and after the arrest in 2012, I feel discriminated against in my attempts to return to sports. The covert manner in which this discrimination takes place needs to be noted in the way my application has been ignored,” she added.
Jyotsna Mukherjee, the sports officer with Eastern Railway, said the reason for Pramanik’s requests not being considered is because she’s past her prime as an athlete.“We have three to four girls who are younger than Pinki and are in much better form currently. Even if Pinki wants Special Casual Leave, she must prove that she is capable of being the best in her event among Eastern Railway athletes. She must start representing Purulia district and compete in state-level meets. If her timings are good and meet our standards, we can consider granting leave for training,” Mukherjee said.
But representing the district would still require a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the railways, said WBAA secretary Kamal Maitra.“She was a registered athlete of Eastern Railway and when she approached me saying she wants to participate again, I told her that she must get a letter from her employer. We are ready to welcome her back as an athlete or even as a coach,” Maitra said. Pramanik, who clearly identifies herself as a woman, said. “I understand that I need to compete at the district level to qualify for higher levels. That is how competitive sport should be. However, as the Sportsperson of the Year of Indian Railways in 2006-2007, I expect to be treated with some respect,” she said.