Sunday, September 04, 2005

Sania Mirza - Dress properly?

I came across this news article on Sania Mirza titled Dress properly Sania: Maulvis. In this they are asking that because Sania hails from a conservative muslim background, she should not wear short skirts and tight t-shirts when playing tennis. She should wear long pants and shirts with full sleeves. They believe that this is a sport and not a fashion parade. This is just too much. People sometimes just go too far with their beliefs. I am an Indian and very proud of Sania. She has not dressed too badly so far. She wears t-shirts and shorts and not more revealing stuff like some other tennis players. I am sure she is very religious and conservative and must have felt uncomfortable at first to wear the shorts skirts that show so much leg. But in sports where there is so much constant stretching and running, clothes that do not inhibit your movement are a must. The article also mentioned that her father has requested the tennis association for different cuts but apparently, sweat shirts, sweat pants etc are not allowed. Don't know why that is but maybe it is for the player's advantage. When you are constantly running around, the body heat rises rapidly and if you are wearing clothes that do not let you cool off fast, you are more likely to get fatigued. I know this because when I started working out, I used to feel odd wearing shorts in public, so I used to wear pants with a half sleeves tshirt. But doing 20-30 minutes of intense cardio was not easy. After sometime, when I shifted to shorts and sleeveless tees, it became so much easier and comfortable. I used to get cooled off so much faster which allowed me to work out longer.
Give Sania a break, she is just a teenager yet and fast becoming an international celebrity. Feelings of religion and conservativeness are not in the clothes but in the mind and heart. As long as she is true to her background and beliefs with her thoughts, her clothes are not important. They are just necessary to her sport. I have always seen her in modest clothes outside of the tennis court pictures.
Sania, I am proud of your achievements and I am sure every Indian is.