Whenever something significant happens in a celebrity’s life, the inherently patriarchal nature of our society comes to the surface. When rumours of Sushmita Sen dating businessman Lalit Modi came to light, people were quick enough to call her a gold-digger. When Parineeti Chopra got married to politician Raghav Chadha, people said she was doing so for prominence and money, even though her net worth was way higher than his. Society often downplays a woman’s achievements to massage the ego of her male partner just because of its patriarchal mindset. It’s like you can’t get away from it because sexism is so intricately wired within the fabric of our society.
Similarly, now that Indian tennis superstar Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik have separated and the latter has tied the knot yet again, a section of the world is trying to downplay Mirza’s achievements as a sportsperson altogether. They are trying to hint that Shoaib Malik’s accomplishments as a sportsperson is much larger than that of Sania Mirza’s and for that alone, she didn’t deserve to be with him.
Here’s an example. One guy named Kifayat Ali took to X (formerly Twitter) to call Sania Mirza a “below average tennis player” while Malik captained the Pakistani cricket team and that sports-wise, he was “miles ahead of her.”
Sania was a below average tennis player. Malik actually captained the cricket team of his country. Sports wise, malik was miles ahead of her. #ShoaibMalik #SanaJaved #SaniaMirza
— Kifayat Ali (@KiffayatAli) January 20, 2024
Mind you, Sania Mirza was world number 1 at one point, has 6 Grand Slams to her name and continues to be on the list of the top female sportspersons in the country, if not the world. As compared to her, Shoaib Malik’s accomplishments as a cricketer are minute. And people were quick to remind him that. Here’s a look at some of the responses to the tweet:
Sania Mirza was a World number 1, has won 6 grand slams and was named in TIME’s list of 100 most influential people in the world. Shoaib Malik was a mediocre all-rounder who has had more wives than match-winning performances. Sports wise, Malik was a nobody in front of her. https://t.co/aEQEHJFipw
— Siddharth (@DearthOfSid) January 21, 2024
People here call him as Sania's husband and now they will call him sania's ex husband. His irrelevant ass is nowhere near to The Sania Mirza's popularity and if we comparing individual records it will be embarrassing for him https://t.co/yYe8CQvUE6 pic.twitter.com/sqYGAyDOkp
— ♡ (@Tanipuff) January 20, 2024
No boy has ever said "I want to grow up to be like Shoaib Malik".
Meanwhile a whole generation of kids grew up learning tennis for the first time & wanting to be like Sania Mirza all because of what she did on & off the courts. She is a hero!
That's the difference my friend. https://t.co/ld17Eiqwg8— Dr. Jonathan (@just1doctorwala) January 21, 2024
we used to know shoaib malik as sania mirza's husband so shut the fuck up. https://t.co/q1744mNsDM
— zoya. (@sunoochanda) January 20, 2024
shoaib malik has played 0 innings of importance in his career
sania mirza inspired a whole generation of women, not just as a tennis player but as someone little girls looked up to when they grew up
no boy in Pakistan ever said he wanted to be like shoaib malik https://t.co/0nH9kVDv9T— amitabh kombuchan (@imajokin) January 20, 2024
“sania was a below average tennis player” world no. 1 ranking, 6 grand slams… but but 1 time wc winner who cheated is better than her because he is a man https://t.co/e2ZoZLruao
— s (@_sectumsempra18) January 20, 2024
she has 6 grand slams, 43 career titles, world number 1 ranking, 2 golds at the asian games, the world used to know shoaib malik as sania mirza's husband, stfu bish https://t.co/a3QR1BIrwW
— Arch ♡ (@BhaktaArchana) January 20, 2024
*In Sports wise below average* When she literally was the world number one and has 6 titles to her name. Meanwhile that guy won nothing extraordinaire at his own competence. https://t.co/0EQGneuk4y
— Shanaya 🍂 (@TweetMePlis) January 20, 2024
Sania is one of Asia’s best sportsperson. Malik isn’t even the best cricketer Sialkot has produced https://t.co/n1AyhIrXFc
— #FreeBalochistan (@breathandair) January 20, 2024
The audacity to call a former world no. 1 "below average", it's not even worth mentioning her achievements over this stupid tweet!! Do these people really have brains or what? https://t.co/mN1zTJi0td
— Ritwika Dhar (@RituD307) January 20, 2024
Do you see what sexism does to society?