Footballer Ashalata Devi, F4 racer Mira Erda open up on hurdles faced by Indian women in sport, equal pay and more

Indian football star Loitongbam Ashalata Devi and Formula 4 racer Mira Erda opened up breaking barriers in sport traditionally viewed as male bastions in an inspiring chat with Firstpost Sports Editor Rupha Ramani on She Shakti 2025, where the spotlight is on women leading from the frontlines.

Both Ashalata and Mira have been trailblazers in their own fields; while the former became the first Indian woman footballer to complete 100 international appearances recently, Mira holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to bag a podium in Formula 4.

And at She Shakti, the two shared their contrasting journeys into taking up sport professionally. Ashalata, for instance, became a key member of the Blue Tigresses despite the hostility that she faced during her childhood.

“I don’t remember too many women footballers in action when I started playing the game. My parents did not support me back then, maybe because there was no awareness on women playing football. I would receive a beating for playing football as it was seen as a sport for boys, and not girls,” Ashalata said.

“It was quite difficult back then, but it was when I got the opportunity to represent India at the U-17 level that my parents finally began to support me. They have been quite supportive since then, urging me to not give up every time I got injured. It was quite difficult back then, but we’ve come a long way since then with greater awareness among parents as far as women’s sport is concerned,” she added.

‘Still a struggle for a lot of people to consider motorsport and women together’: Mira

Mira, on the other hand, revealed that while her father was quite supportive of her not only exhibiting an interest in motorsport but taking it up professionally, she revealed that it was her competitiveness with her brothers than inspired her to get behind the wheel and accelerate her journey towards becoming a racer.

“I was nine when I started racing professionally, but before that, anything with speed – I’m happy, I’m up for it. My dad used to take me on long drives, and I used to enjoy that. And when my dad started a go-karting track in Vadodara where we are based out of, I used to look at my brothers drive, and no – I’m very competitive when that happens. I don’t want to let them enjoy, I want to enjoy too. The first time I ever sat in a go-kart, I hit the tyre barriers,” Mira said at the event.

“Only the fact that they were enjoying, and I enjoyed speed, I was like, ‘I am going to get over that fear, and get back into it.’ She (Ashalata) said that her parents were not supportive, but over here, it was totally opposite for me. My dad was the one who pushed me into it and he’s seen that there’s a spark in me, and I am lucky to have parents who have supported me into such an unconventional sport because back in 2010, nobody could relate motorsport and women together.

“Even now, it’s still a struggle for a lot of people to consider both of them together. But over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to see the change and be a part of the change where now if we wear the helmet, nobody knows if it’s a girl or a boy. And then it’s all about who works hard and who drives the best out there,” she added.

Ashalata, who is part of the Indian women’s side that secured a historic qualification for next year’s AFC Asian Cup in Australia after a clinical qualifying campaign in Thailand, used the occasion to raise awareness on the disparity of pay between male and female footballers in India.

“Not only do women get less opportunities compared to men, on top of that we keep fighting for equal pay. Female footballers earn a meagre five per cent of the salaries of male footballers. It’s very difficult for us, and makes us think that we’re not professional footballers in the first place.

“Equal pay will help give women footballers a sense of belonging in professional sport. And if there’s no job security and decent pay after working so hard and achieving so much, then parents understandably will be apprehensive about their daughters taking up sport as a career. Equal opportunity and pay thus are important,” Ashalata added.

Watch the full episode here: