Mr. Sharma is finding a groom for his daughter who recently graduated from a reputed Delhi University college. What matters the most is that she is tall, fair, and beautiful, and holds an undergraduate degree. What doesn’t matter is that she does not have a job and hence is not financially independent and will have to be dependent on her husband after she enters into the institution of marriage.
I write this article today out of concern about the growing number of women today either opting out or being forced not to join the workforce. What surprises me is the fact that the former seems valid and depends on one’s choice and the latter seems erroneous on the part of the society. Yes, I firmly believe that no one should be forced to make any decision especially if it concerns ones future. BUT what seems as a valid or acceptable option of choosing not to work voluntarily also has several detrimental effects, not just on the individual but also on the society.
Let’s try to introspect the problem in detail.
Indeed, it’s very good news that we have progressed from a society where marriages were solely based on the amount of dowry the bride’s family can pay and her physical appearance to a society where a woman is judged on the basis of education and her abilities and hence matches are made on the basis of profession or academics.
But my concern is owing to this trend, women are educated merely in order to marry them off the moment they receive their degree just as a lamb is fed and taken care of extremely well before one day all of a sudden she is slaughtered. Since education is the basic requirement to get married instead of educating their daughters a growing number of people throughout the country tend to merely buy degrees which render this whole trend meaningless. As a result of which, many rackets are functional in various parts of U.P, Bihar, Jharkhand whose modus operandi is to provide BA/MA degree by conducting fake exams wherein the question papers and the answer booklets both are provide to the students .
What is even more shocking to see is that more and more urban women are opting not to work. If the purpose of education for these students is to just acquire knowledge then it’s absolutely acceptable and commendable but the actual purpose is as I have earlier stated is to possess a minimum qualification to present their candidature for marriage. A suitable example of the current situation is Delhi University which is ranked among the best Universities in the world where the number of female students who choose not to work is increasing each year. In some colleges the situation is so grave most of the female students even drop out of college in the last year.
The 21st century woman would speak nothing but English, would read nothing but Jane Austen, would not listen a single syllable against feminism, would settle for nothing less in life. But when it comes to financial independence, they’d rather choose the other option.
Hence when this happens then all the dreams about women being empowered, gaining financial independence and equality goes down the drain.
What is the reason behind such a migration?
- More and more women want a luxurious lifestyle from the very beginning and hence would rather marry a well settled person than actually sweat it out to achieve it.
- The Indian families prefer to get the female members of the family married as soon as they complete education and hence these females do not really get a chance to actually step out and find a job for themselves. What happens to their aspirations is subject to the whims and fancies of her in laws and husband.
- There is a growing trend of seeking highly educated yet “homely” bride among the Indian youth,
where the bride is supposed to be educated but will not be “allowed” to work after marriage so more and more women are opting to settle down as a home maker .
What happens if someone does not choose to work despite having a suitable educational qualification? Why should we be worried? Why is it detrimental for the whole society?
1- The whole agenda of women empowerment goes down the drain since they are no longer financially independent which one of the major aims of education is.
2- They constitute a very small portion of the country’s skilled labor.
3- Because of their small presence in the workforce, their representation and hence their problems are not raised at the suitable platforms.
4- One of the reasons why crimes such as marital rape and domestic violence are not even registered because the victim does not have a source of income.
5- The skill sets that they acquire are not applied anywhere and hence the whole purpose of being educated is defeated.
Though I firmly believe that the aim of education should be to total development of personality by gaining knowledge .There should absolutely be no shame in proclaiming that one is a homemaker because then one can pass that knowledge to the next generation.
There are questions which I could not bring myself to answer after so much introspection.
1- If education is merely a tool for achieving the so called ultimate and sole aim of a women’s life i.e. marriage then does that education actually make a difference in a woman’s life??
2- Aren’t we as a society fabricating ready-made brides? Is it really a great Indian BRIDE FACTORY?
