Just saw this serial “Balika Vadhu” which is based on the old traditional Marwari family, which has tried to show the traditions that these families in Rajasthan follow like child marriage, Life of widows etc.
A widow is supposed to live a life like she has massacred about 100 children and now is supposed to spend the whole life in a prison repenting for her bad deeds. Well someone has to take the courage to ask what is the blunder that a widow commits. In my opinion its just the fact that she is a widow and her bad luck that her husband and in some cases her to be husband (in case of child marriage) dies!!
She is supposed to stay in a room without any light, devoid of any luxuries, she is going to do every bit of her work herself, she cannot go out of the house, leave alone wearing latest fashion she cannot shop for herself and so on the list is too long. In a nutshell she is supposed to live a life of a prisoner for the only damn reason that she is a widow.
My question is that if a person is forced to live in such an environment, which is devoid of basic space and which does not even fulfill the basic needs then don’t you expect a person to rebel and do what people cannot even think in there wildest dreams.
That’s after all human nature!! You will definitely do what you are told not to do. So if such a female falls in love with a third person then who is to be blamed?? Well definitely not the widow. The society has closed all doors upon her and what else do you expect her to do. But the irony is that even in such a situation the widow is to be blamed.
These practices are still very much in our modern society and in our Metros. I know of families where they have become modern enough to make there daughters study and send them to Co- ed schools but the daughters are given strict instructions you are not supposed to talk to guys. Its like a line which is drawn around them in which they are supposed live. Here though the situation is much better BUT …that’s the big but??? Still there is a significant amount of restriction on the daughters and to repeat my self one definitely ends up doing what he/she is told not to do!
Such families end up having their daughters elope, or they have to bow down to their daughter’s wishes and agree for a love marriage. Again the Irony. Daughters are to be blamed throughout their life…
Can some one explain this to the society its after all the fault of the so called sane traditions which lead to such situations!!
Too much of it ..may be ..but this really troubles me!!!