Gender Inequalities in India
Spoke to Bobby - a very intelligent and progressive woman shopkeeper in Jaisalmer today who poured all her brains out regarding gender inequalities in India, especially the Rajasthan state.
Women are considered a bad "family investment". From the moment that girls were born, families will sigh at it, only hoping that the girl will fetch a hefty dowry from her future husband. In some cases, if the gender of the baby is known before childbirth, actions may be taken to get rid of it.
Once a girl is born, they are kept out of sight. Limited education and freedom is given to them due to the outdated cultural beliefs that women doesn't need and don't deserve proper education, rights, and freedom. They were only taught how to do some light cleaning, make good chapatis for her family, as well as skills for making handicrafts such as scarfs, bags, etc.
However, they are not allowed to sell them. Only man are worthy enough to be "exposed" to the outside world. In hotels, restaurants, shops, and taxis, men are the one who are manning them, even the cooking of food and cleaning of their property. (This is so true. 99% of the shopkeepers or waiters or chefs I met are all male. I've only met 2 female shopkeepers so far.)
Some may view this as a plus point, where men does all the work where women just stay at home. This is far from the truth in India. At the age of 7-12 (14 is the limit), girls are basically just waiting to get their first period. Once they got it, they are considered as ready-to-marry. Their parents will arrange a guy for her, the guy's family will (hopefully) pay a good amount of dowry to the girl's family, and the deal is done. The girl will wear a saree, show her belly, and be married/sold off to the other family. In Rajasthan, a woman can only belong to one family. After the marriage, the woman belongs to her husband's family, and her own family will basically go out of touch.
When a woman’s husband is dead, the wife loses her life and soul as well.
This phrase has a very sad interpretation in India. A woman’s life is said to revolve around her husband. When he’s no more, the wife has no more purpose. No jewelries are allowed, and only plain/dull sarees can be worn by widows. Women are not allowed to remarry, whereas men can remarry up to 5 times. In India where women are not allowed to work, a widow’s life without his husband would be hell on earth.
With all that has been said, changes are coming, albeit slowly. Although nowhere near enough, more and more women are receiving education and will fight for their own rights. Families are slowly getting the awareness of the importance of equality. NGOs are empowering women to be independent (the shop that this woman is working at is an NGO focusing on Rajasthani women empowerment). Indian superstars (e.g. Aamir Khan (I love him)) are making efforts to make movies that empowers women. Even the Indian Prime Minister Modi has outlawed revealing the gender of the baby to would be parents. (This may not the best way, but I thought it's fitting, considering the cultural circumstances that they need to conform to.)
India is slowly moving forward. (Although not completely comparable,) Are the rest of the world doing the same too?
