Influence of families in women participation in sports at university Level

Influence of families in women participation in sports at university Level

Sports are defined as competitive physical activities which have a set of rules and are played to enhance the physical ability of the individual along with providing him entertainment. The history of sports is as old as the existence of human beings. Proof is present in the form of cave paintings of the ancient times. SportAccord, the largest international sports federations association for all the major sports of the world, requires the following qualities in the sport to actually qualify as one:
• A sense of competition between the members of both the games.
• A game which does not cause any kind of injury to the players or anyone around the field of play.
• The purchase of equipment should not be restricted from only one company.
• A game which depends on effort and not luck.
According to Wankel and Berger (1990) sports and other physical activities play a major part in people’s lives in providing enjoyment, personal growth, socialization and social change. They also then determined that both positive and negative consequences can be associated with sports. They then described how positive outcomes could be enhanced through leadership, organization and environmental factors. Some more benefits of playing sports are that they teach us teamwork, help us maintain our health, healthy sport activities prevent the youth from side-tracking to the crime world, increase the concentration capabilities of the players and develop in them problem-solving skills. Sports also help in relieving the pressure and stress and boost self-esteem of the individual.
The field of sports has completely changed today as it was in the previous times. The old rules for all the games have changed somewhat and now people play with new and better rules. Better equipment for playing the sport is now available in the market. All these new additions to sports have made sports more fun to play today than it was in the previous times. The sports played nowadays include cricket, badminton, squash, basketball, baseball, football, golf, hockey, skiing, skating, swimming, tennis, volleyball, windsurfing, gymnastics, athletics and many more.
In Pakistan the awareness of people on sports has increased much since the previous times. The Pakistan Sports Board was made in 1962 to promote games among people and to maintain the international standards of games at the national level. Adopting a sport as a profession was not thought of very high some years back. Sports were always thought to be a leisure activity. But today the number of people adopting sports as a career has increased. Pakistani sports representatives can now been seen at international and national level games playing with enthusiasm and zeal.
Some of the sport events being organized worldwide to promote it include Olympics Games, Common Wealth Games, South Asian Games, Asian Games, Cricket World Cup, FIFA World Cup, and many more. These multi-sport events have provided people of various regions and culture a platform to interact with each other increasing the socialization of people throughout the world.
Sports were previously associated to be for men only. Women were not allowed to actively participate in the sports. They were not even allowed to watch sports let alone play them. The number of female participants in various sports was not much in the late 19th and the early 20th century. The increase in women participation in women especially rose during World War I and World War II. Towards the end of the 20th century awareness among females increased leading to their increased and active participation in sports. They were allowed to take part in the modern Olympics not before 1900 but still the number was less then. Susan B. Anthony says that bicycling has played a major role in giving freedom to women. She says that this gave women a sense of liberty and independence.
Liberal feminism theory is one of the four theories which have been coined by Alison Jaggar in 1983 in a book which she published by the name of “Feminist politics and Human nature”. The theory mainly points out towards the equivalence faced by male and females in the public sphere which are mostly earned by means of legal changes. The equivalence here means equal treatment in the sectors of education, pay, ending job sex segregation and working conditions. The issue arising in the private domain are however of greater importance as they tend to influence or hinder the equal treatment being given at the public level.
Although women were given permission by their families to play in different games but they were still held back from a number of games. Alternatives of these games were then developed so that women can play them with ease. For example, for women to play out of basketball and baseball, netball and softball were developed making the games easier for them.
Kelinske, Mayer and Chen (2001) conducted a research in which they studied the perceived benefits from participation in sports in both males and females. The results obtained indicated no visible difference in the benefits for males and females. The only point of difference found in the study was that males took sports more as a competition, a way to enhance their masculine traits. Rest on all points same thoughts were observed in both the genders.
In Pakistan the facilities available for women for playing sports are very less. The society does not allow Pakistani women to take part in sports. The main reason put forward for argument sake is religion. In Pakistan, majority of the people in Pakistan are Muslims. Islam however does not stop women from engaging themselves in healthy activities such as sports. But there are some other factors which stop women from participating.
For one the dress code used at international level for games is not supported in Pakistan for their women. Also separate facilities are not provided so that women may play freely and without anyone stopping them. Society pressurizes the parents and they in turn pressurize their female family members discouraging their participation in sports. Transport, security, communication, socio-economic differences, time, employments and environment are also some important factors limiting female participation in sports. But then again if we consider some of these problems are mutual problems and concerns of women all around the world. In Pakistan too now females are taking parts in sports in national and international level. Women have also made their entry into the cricket world recently. Some well- known female players of Pakistan are KiranBaloch, Kiran Khan, ShabanaAkhtar, RubabRaza, Carla Khan, Sna Mir and Naseem Hamid.
Hypothesis:
The female students are not supported by their families in opting sports as a professional career.
Operational Hypothesis:
Female participation is sport is dependent variable and family support is independent for this hypothesis.

Research methodology:

To conduct this research I have chosen 100 students as my target population. I will be visiting 10 universities of Lahore to collect the data. The target population from each university is 10 students who would be chosen on the basis of random sampling by selecting the students having roll number ending on the digit “3”. The means of data collection that I have selected is questionnaire. All the questions in the questionnaire will be close ended with the exception of the last question which will help me to conclude my hypothesis.
Literature Review:
Eccles and Harold (1991) concluded in their research that parents have a very strong effect on their children when deciding for sports. It may happen sometimes that children do want to get involved in a certain sport but parents do not allow the child. The reason mostly behind this is that parents have other aims and goals in their minds regarding their children which may differ from those of the children. Playing a sport without the confidence in parents becomes a difficult and a less efficient job. As a result the effort being put in by the players decreases because of lack of parental support. Now if parents support their children for sport activities and moving further on with the sport then better results from the players have been obtained. So, it can be said that greater the parental pressure against the sport, decreased attention of players towards the sport as a result showing a performance which is definitely not their best.

Brustad (1996)has also stated in his study that backing from parents has a major contribution in the performance of the player. He concluded that intensity that is found in a players’ play is directly proportional to the expectations and beliefs that parents have on their children with regards to the sport. Those individuals who do not have family support whether emotional or financial tend to give poor performance than those of the opposite case.

Another study in favor of parental influence and sport involvement and performance is that presented by Scanlan and Lewthwaite (1985). They too in their study have concluded that if parents have their children’s back during their involvement in sports then the players is able to give his full input towards the game instead of worrying about letting down the parents. When they give their maximum input they start to enjoy the game. And it is this enjoyment and ease of play that brings out the best in the player leading him to perform fully ultimately leading to greater success.

As per the view of Côté (1999), any sport player has three phases in his life, the sampling year, specialization year and the investment year. In the sampling year, he says, that it is the parents which motivates the child to play a game. This interaction with different kinds of games and sports help the parents to identify if the child has a special talent in some particular sport. Next is the specialization period. During this period the player sticks himself to one or two sport instead of several. It is also the duration in which he is getting educated. In some cases the parents do support the child for sport activities along with studies while some do the exact opposite. For them education is the only thing important, and no questioning it, but for them sport is a waste of time. In the investment year the full concentration of the player is on the game. This is the time when actual training for only one game starts. And this training will decide the future in the game. Here too parents continuously help them to achieve their goals. So, it can be seen from this study also that how important parents say is in the players’ life, effecting every step that he takes.

According to Thornton (2010) women have not been receiving equal rights for participation in sports as compared to men. Discrimination and harassment have been the two major issues which have reduced the number of opportunities for women. But he also states that the approach of people regarding this issue is changing throughout the globe. Support from parents is also received by the female students wishing to involve themselves in sport activities. In professional sports too women can now locate a spot for themselves. Apart from playing women are also now being engaged as coaches for up to college level.

Qureshi and Ghouri (2011) in their research work have shown that previously women in Muslim states were not at the liberty to play games. But today things have changed and active participation of women in sports can be observed. Further they have concluded that it is the parents of female students who should recognize the importance of the sport and consequently support their daughters and encourage them to take part in different kinds of sport activities. He has also mentioned that factors such as legal restrictions, social disgraces and availability of little or no prospect are also contributing factors towards they participation of female students in sports.
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(This research is conducted by Student of Sociology department, Forman Christian College Lahore, Pakistan.2009-2013)