The following article provides a brief introduction into the part of India’s population that plays video games. Admitting that the past-time is still relatively slow growing, interest in video games has been amplified due to the recent surge in popularity of tournaments, like the 17 million dollar annual grand tournament for DOTA 2. The appeal of video games is not lost upon females either, with a reported 52% of the gaming population as female, India sports a greater female proportion than the US. Despite a fair number of both sexes, the occasional harassment still arises; as Zehra, a local female gamer, points out, “there are people who will belittle you for no reason”. However, Chitra shows that this is not always the case, as she explains how her all male team mates treat her no differently because of her gender.
It seems though India’s interest in video games is not as developed as in other countries, the scene is still strong and diverse. The issue of sexual and gender based harassment, on the other hand, is just as mature though with arguments against women barely reaching further than vague assumptions of inferiority. But, I would like to reinforce the point Chitra made, that not the entire community is like this. Hopefully the latter is the direction that video games continue to head in.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/female-gamers-are-finding-a-niche-in-the-world-of-video-gaming/article7629025.ece