Most women in India are fighting against established
stereotypes. The stereotypes are everywhere. Women all over the world are
stereotyped more so in India.
Its starts with her birth, despite changing times, in a
lot of families the birth of a baby girl is not a matter of rejoicing. It’s
still a matter of concern due to huge costs involved in the weddings burden of which falls on the girl’s parents.
Despite the fact that these days girls are no less than the boys in terms
of education, sports, and in various professions, etc., the ultimate aim of an Indian girl still remains to
become eligible enough to be married and have kids. To be an accomplished cook and efficient in household work. Professional achievements can go down
the drain.
All her life she works hard to achieve her career goals,
only for it to become secondary to her marriage, her husband, kids and
in-laws. Becoming a good wife and daughter-in-law becomes her
primary aim after marriage.
Stark reality reveals itself right after marriage. She is judged constantly, made to feel like a pariah if
she decides to assert herself. A woman with a mind of her own is frowned upon.
Hell boils over if she has to live with her in-laws. The son of the house
sits around with his legs up whereas the daughter –in-law is supposed to pitch
into the household chores, eat what she is told to eat, wear what she is told
to wear, cook what she is told to cook and behave as she is told to behave. Any
occasion or festivals mean she is not supposed to enjoy herself but pitch-in in every chore possible and behave like a dutiful wife/daughter-in-law all the
time. .
Her parents are supposed to become alien to her and become
less important to her than her in-laws. Her duty is to please her in-laws and be at their beck and call. It’s frowned upon if she wants to go
visit her parents or go stay with them. Alas! in-laws never become parents and
the daughter-n-law never becomes a daughter.
A married woman in India is supposed to make all the sacrifices
without having a voice of her own. She is not supposed to have the right to
take her own decisions. She is judged constantly.
And if she decides not to work after marriage she loses her self-respect and independence due to her financial dependency on her husband. It’s a sad reality.
Nevertheless there are still a lot of women who have been very lucky to have had understanding families and in-laws and husbands. Also women who have had the courage to assert themselves to gain freedom to live their lives on their own terms.
And if she decides not to work after marriage she loses her self-respect and independence due to her financial dependency on her husband. It’s a sad reality.
Nevertheless there are still a lot of women who have been very lucky to have had understanding families and in-laws and husbands. Also women who have had the courage to assert themselves to gain freedom to live their lives on their own terms.
It's high time women started asserting themselves
more and living their lives based on their own terms. And not accepting any further stereotypes imposed on them.
We live only once and it should be on our own terms. It’s also very important for women to be financially independent. This is the only way of gaining self respect. And she should stop harboring guilt for any decision she undertakes to make their life better and to live a fulfilling one!!
We live only once and it should be on our own terms. It’s also very important for women to be financially independent. This is the only way of gaining self respect. And she should stop harboring guilt for any decision she undertakes to make their life better and to live a fulfilling one!!
