ICC considering membership for women

MUMBAI: Looks like the maidens are all set to bowl out another unjust tradition. After the Bombay Gymkhana granted equal rights to women members last January, the Cricket Club of India too may be headed the same way.
Putting hushed whispers to rest, CCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur made a welcome announcement in the club''s newsmagazine. "We have requests from members over the years for their daughters being considered for membership on the same basis as done for sons.The committee is seized of the proposal and will consider the same shortly."
Though Dungarpur was not available for comment, club members said the management was likely to come up with a resolution in the annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled in September.
Currently, membership is open only to members'' sons. Daughters can be dependent members only till they are single. Dependent members do not enjoy voting rights in matters concerning the running of the club. The much-coveted CCI life membership comes at a cost of approximately Rs 7.5 lakh.
"This is an excellent move," said publisher Ravi Lalwani, who has been a CCI member for the past 15 years. Mr Lalwani, who has a 14-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, said, it would have been very difficult for him to explain to his daughter why he continued to be a member of a club that was biased against women.
According to member Vivek Mittal, "This should have happened years ago''. He added that though CCI was the most liberal of all clubs, men continue to be the decision-makers. "I would be nice to have my sister Aditi, who is currently a dependent member, be treated at par with me," he added.
"We are glad that the CCI committee has struck a positive note on the issue," said Nandini Sardesai, who spearheaded the the campaign demanding equal rights for women members at the Bombay Gymkhana. Ms Sardesai, whose cricketer husband Dileep Sardesai is a CCI member, fought a fierce five-month battle with the Bombay Gym management to win the same privileges as male members. "Our girls are now preparing to contest the elections for the various committees," she said.
However, not everybody is happy with women storming male bastions. "They started as Gentlemen''s sports club and there is no need to change that," rued a CCI member, not willing to be identified. There is no need to turn the cradle of sport to a hot spot, a place to be seen, the member added.