New Delhi, (Samajweekly) The Federation of Motorsports Clubs of Indias (FMSCI) Women in Motorsport (WIM) commission on Friday reiterated that it is working towards increasing representation for women both behind the wheel and even behind the scenes in motorsport.
The governing body for motorsport in India – FMSCI , instituted the Women In Motorsport (WIM) commission in January 2017 and since then the body has been working towards encouraging, recognising, and supporting budding female racing talent in India.
According to the WIM commission, they aim to “engage, empower, educate and support all women who want to compete” in motorsport.
Sita Raina, a member of the WIM Commission said that “women enter motorsports through men”. She added that women are often influenced towards the joys of motorsport by observing their fathers who are participating or are interested in motorsport.
Other members of the WIM Commission included Deepa Malik, president of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), fellow motoring journalist and rally driver, Renuka Kirpalani, and Anita Nanjappa, who is has been an eight-time national champion on two wheels and will be heading the two-wheeler motorsport arm of the WIM Commission.
The inclusion of Deepa Malik will encourage WIM India to invite people with disabilities to train as Marshals and volunteers in motorsport.
When asked why she was taking the initiative to involve herself in promoting motorsports, Malik, President of Paralympic Committee of India, said, “I wanted to join this initiative to change this perception about women and particularly about women about disabilities. I hope this initiative will encourage more and more career options for women in motorsports.”
“There are a lot of people who think that women cannot take up such career in racing or rallies and this step is aimed at changing such perceptions,” she added.
On this occasion, the WIM Commission announced the launch of their social media handles, as well as some of the initiatives that they plan to implement to ensure that women take an interest in motorsport.
Anita Nanjappa, who is heading the two-wheelers arm for the WIM Commission also mentioned that the FMSCI has added a safety inclusion policy for young women in motorsport. She also talked about the sustainability initiative of the FMSCI, which targets waste management – which has been spearheaded by the WIM Commission.
The Commission also mentioned that the roadmap and the timeline for these various initiatives will be declared soon and also that there will be plenty of learning material available digitally as well, in the form of webinars.
WIM also said that it would like to invite all girls and women who are passiona’e about cars, engineering, and speed to come and be a part of our community, starting as young eight years of age.
