Indian Upbringing of Girls Focuses on Marriage
Whether she is pursuing a graduation course from a near-by university or has taken up one of the best courses at the topmost college of the country, ask her the question that follows and her answer would be the same. Have you heard remarks about your marriage, since childhood? A majority of them would reply a yes. There is no denial of the fact, Indian girls are taught from childhood how to become a perfect wife to their husbands. While she is growing up from a little girl to a teenager she gets to hear, if you don’t do this right no one will marry you!! When talking loudly, she is asked not to, lest she would be thrown out of her in-laws house. She is instructed to walk without making any rattles, while it is fine if her brothers do so. At a tender age, she is taught how to sit, how to walk, how to talk, how to behave and sometimes even how to suppress her own desires or compromise them for the sake of her brother’s. One day when she is a teenager the difference between a female and a male body dawns upon her. She is then taught how to keep distance with men. While we forget to do the most crucial; help her respect and enjoy her own build. Then, when she reaches her final year of graduation, at the age of 21 or 22 one can find parents worried to find a groom; meanwhile planning the careers of their sons of the same age. It doesn’t end here. She is taught to adjust all her life, no matter how harsh a husband she has. Today, when the whole country is demanding equal rights for women, shouldn’t we retrospect the ways we raise our children? Indian men grow up, seeing their sisters being trained to be a perfect life partner. While, they enjoy the fruits of childhood, their sisters are made to understand what responsibilities are. They grow up seeing their mothers striving for the same; trying to please their fathers. How do they respect women, then? While you are teaching your daughters how to behave, tell your sons how to look at a girl with respect. Instruct him to keep his voice low, lest his wife may leave in the future. Ask him not to resort to violence, else he may not find a bridegroom. Teach him the same, to be distant with women, and not to touch without her consent. One doesn’t need to teach his sons not to rape or molest, all one needs is to instill the same sense of respect and gratitude in him towards the opposite gender as one inculcates in the daughters.
Surely, this doesn’t depict the complete Indian scenario, but is definitely a picture of most of the India. Through the upbringing, girls are carefully programmed to desire less of self and to be unaware of the equality rights they have. Before anyone else the parents must understand, daughters are individuals. Our existence isn’t justified by being someone’s wife or a mother of a child, our identity is simply as that of the men, it lays in the letter “I”.
———— About the Author: This article has been contributed by Srishti Raj, our intern. Srishti is a student of Computer Science & Engineering at KIIT University at Bhubaneswar. She is an avid reader and a keen observer who yearns to see a change in the society.
