that women can participate but i say dont patronise make it creativebesides the way questions are framed women quizzers also face some basic hurdles points out maitreyi gupta 32 a consultant who has been part of the punemumbai quizzing circuit since 2005 says that in colleges quizzes sometimes happen in boys hostels or rooms after hours many venues also dont have proper toilets for women delhi university student kanika yadav recalls travelling to attend a college quiz outside delhi when she was forced to share a room with other boys because the organisers didnt expect that any girls would be comingthe realisation that there was no regular quiz in bengaluru helmed by a woman inspired sports journalist anuradha santhanam to start her quiz asq named after her initials last year quizzing is something you normally wouldnt associate with being a gendered activity or physically macho but it has become a boys club says santhanam 28 it is considered ubercompetitive and can get cutting at times with jibes and microaggressions the more we are able to move away from that image the more women can come inin april veteran quizzer jayashree mohanka partnered with reesoom pal to start an allwoman meetup in kolkatas jadavpur university to share questions and quizzing resources there are so few women in quizzing at one point it was just the two of us in the citys open quizzes and we wondered where all the women were pal says since then the two have held around 4 sessions which in turn have encouraged more women to participate in open quizzes in the city it becomes a really good confidence boosting exercise for everyone says pal with this safe space girls tell us that they are no longer afraid of being judged by everyone if they have an incorrect answer says palwhatsapp can act like a support group for female quizzers helping them connect and hone their skills for instance the group a herd of quizzers has over 170 members from across india and was founded after the discussion in delhi university women can share questions discuss problems ask queries and find quiz partners just knowing that there are women out there who enjoy quizzing as much as you do is heartening says cofounder and delhibased college student akanksha singh 21