I remember being particularly passionate about playing football, but when dear mommy dropped the “ladkiyan yeh sab nahi karti” ball, I had no choice but to bid farewell to that dream. How often have we adapted to society’s list of the dos and don’ts for women and gave up on things we were truly passionate about? Countless doesn’t even begin to cover it but when Shweta Rathore was faced with a similar dilemma, she downright refused to let society govern her life or snatch away her dreams.

From being an engineer to becoming a one-of-a-kind physique athlete of India, Shweta is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the World championship. Born and brought up in Jaipur, she worked as an engineer for some time before realising that there is more to life than what is dictated by society. Today, she has successfully won the titles of Miss World 2014 Fitness Physique, Miss Asia 2015 Fitness Physique, Miss India Sports Physique Champion 2015, and Miss Maharashtra Sports Physique Champion. She was also the Hattrick Miss India sports physique champion for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

To be good, we must do good; and by doing good we take a sure means of being good, as the use and exercise of the muscles increase their power. 👊👊 . #fuelby @avvatarindia #indianwheytogo . . . #Indiasfirst #awarded #international #Fitnessicon #Fitnessdiva #MissWorld #MissAsia #hattrickmissindia #fitnessforever #ShwetaRathore . . #Facebookpage :- iShwetaRathore 👈👈👈 link in bio 👆👆 . . . . #brandambassador #avvatar #inspiration #fitnessisalifestyle #finessdiva #bossbabe #prideofindia #google #fitnessqueen #weightlifting #girlwithmuscles #gymmotivation #shwetarathorefanclub #youthicon #befitwithshwetarathore

6,877 Likes, 66 Comments – Shweta Rathore (@ishwetarathore) on Instagram: “To be good, we must do good; and by doing good we take a sure means of being good, as the use and…”

Excerpts:

First, I must gush over your amazing physique, Shweta. #Goals right there!

Haha! Thank you so much for the admiration.

You carry yourself with such unmatched confidence but have you ever felt judged?

Yes and this mentality is not just in India. Women everywhere have to work twice as hard to prove themselves. Yeah, but when it comes to the focus on physique, India devotes much narrow mentality to it. Because I am a woman, I have to look weak, be weaker than men, slim, needing support and what not. And when one doesn’t fit the bill here, the society resorts to body-shaming.

This Monday is the beginning of your happy journey throughout the whole week, so enjoy it. #Mondaymotivation ❤️🌟 . . . #Indiasfirst #awarded #international #Fitnessicon #Fitnessdiva #MissWorld #MissAsia #hattrickmissindia #fitnessforever #ShwetaRathore . . . #Facebookpage :- iShwetaRathore 👈👈👈 link in bio 👆👆 . . . . #inspiration #lifestyle #actionsspeaklouderthanwords #styleinspiration #fitnesscelebrity #prideofindia #proathlete #gymmotivation #Bollywood #girlswholift #google #youthicon #hardworkanddedication #befitwithshwetarathore #shwetarathorefanclub

7,988 Likes, 84 Comments – Shweta Rathore (@ishwetarathore) on Instagram: “This Monday is the beginning of your happy journey throughout the whole week, so enjoy it….”

When people in India see women like me who are focused on fitness, do weightlifting, work out, they are shocked and to some extent, scandalised that how can a woman dare to break years of conditioning of yeh toh ladka hi kar sakta hai. It’s like everyone is just ready to judge you at a moment’s notice, but I have never let this deter me from my path.

Though there have been positive responses as well, even guys have come up to me to compliment the hard work I must have done to attain my physique.

But these positive comments are few and far between as people hardly celebrate the accomplishments of women.

Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I don’t let it affect me. You see, whenever a woman is set on attaining heights of success, be it in the corporate world, sports, or any other field, there are always people to pull her down. Unka kuch nahi jata, that they will maybe break someone’s will with their relentless comments.

People comment on my looks behind my back, but they lack the guts to come and say it to my face. What they say is their frame of mind, how I react is mine.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj38v8zBxPC/

She has started an academy called ‘Fitness Forever’, the first ever academy in India totally meant for people who want to be athletes. Oh, and Shweta is also the first Indian ambassador of Muscletech. She is the first Indian woman to be selected for the Hungary Cup.

So, what was it that motivated you to pick up fitness as your sole goal?

I was in 9th when I was inclined towards it. So, genetically speaking, I have very well built, large frame of body, so because of that I used to look huge among my classmates. They assumed that I was fat and the bullying started around the time when I was a small kid. This gradually pushed me to go to the gym, I wanted to prove to them, show them how fit I am. That’s how it started.

#pushyourself with @vivafitnessgo 👍✌️🌟 . . . #Indiasfirst #awarded #international #Fitnessicon #Fitnessdiva #MissWorld #MissAsia #hattrickmissindia #fitnessforever #ShwetaRathore . . . #Facebookpage :- iShwetaRathore 👈👈👈 link in bio 👆👆 . . . . #prideofindia #inspire #brandambassador #vivafitness #lifestyle #fitnesscelebrity #fitnesslegend #proathlete #actionsspeaklouderthanwords #bollywood #girlswholift #google #youthicon #hardworkanddedication #befitwithshwetarathore #shwetarathorefanclub

6,145 Likes, 51 Comments – Shweta Rathore (@ishwetarathore) on Instagram: “#pushyourself with @vivafitnessgo 👍✌️🌟 . . . #Indiasfirst #awarded #international #Fitnessicon…”

And that you did! Talking about gym, many a time, women become conscious and awkward there…

… owing to the judgemental patriarchal culture in gyms. Men stare at them as if they have seen an alien there, non-verbally criticising her decision to opt for fitness. I count such people as useless weights on Earth. I trained my mind to pay no heed to them, I developed so much confidence inside of me that I tuned them out. It is not only our body that needs fitness but our brains and willpower as well needs to develop and fortify itself.

First published on Dec 11, 2018.