The time for women has arrived. Every woman is able to speak for herself. And that's fantastic. Feminism has finally come through.
But Feminism is one thing...and being extreme is another. I recently read an article that gave me mixed feelings. In summary, it spoke about various Indian (or Hindu) marriage traditions and how they affect women negatively, such as the Kashi Yatra, a ritual in South Indian weddings, where the groom"goes away" to learn more and the bride's parents have to ask him to stay. The author questions, why can't the bride go away?
Now, I'm not one who is well versed in Indian wedding rituals and neither have I witnessed many Indian weddings to comment on all this. But I found many of the arguments in this article a bit too extreme...I mean, these are all old traditions that have been in practice for years. And we all know that in the past, there was the repression of women. But today, we choose to follow these traditions in marriages. But we don't have to.
Taking on traditions from the past and bringing them up in a current era where they hold no meaning towards women and their repression is something, I personally think, is stupid (sorry, I generally don't blatantly comment on other people's work, but this one really was silly). Furthermore, I don't see the need to constantly remark on the idea of feminism. Yes, there are many places where women are still repressed...but I think we've come a long way since 2013. There are so many NGOs, celebrities and even regular people who help towards women empowerment. We have reached an era where women empowerment or gender equality is not a major issue in many communities. I do agree that it has not been completely eradicated.
Writing articles on rituals that have been in practice for a long time, that don't even matter today is pointless. It's important to focus on real issues - child marriage, rape, women abuse...
And if this still does not convince you, get a court marriage done. But don't criticize your own (or other's) traditions and rituals. The actions of it do not matter anymore. Many rituals die out after sometime. No one is asking you to bow down and follow them. You can choose to do so or not. And on that note, Mom and Dad, you are most definitely invited to my wedding. I want you to see me go through all these traditions and laugh through them as we do so. Because they're just rituals...and after the wedding, it shall all go back to normal...because I will be a working woman...something that was not so common eras ago.
But Feminism is one thing...and being extreme is another. I recently read an article that gave me mixed feelings. In summary, it spoke about various Indian (or Hindu) marriage traditions and how they affect women negatively, such as the Kashi Yatra, a ritual in South Indian weddings, where the groom"goes away" to learn more and the bride's parents have to ask him to stay. The author questions, why can't the bride go away?
Now, I'm not one who is well versed in Indian wedding rituals and neither have I witnessed many Indian weddings to comment on all this. But I found many of the arguments in this article a bit too extreme...I mean, these are all old traditions that have been in practice for years. And we all know that in the past, there was the repression of women. But today, we choose to follow these traditions in marriages. But we don't have to.
Taking on traditions from the past and bringing them up in a current era where they hold no meaning towards women and their repression is something, I personally think, is stupid (sorry, I generally don't blatantly comment on other people's work, but this one really was silly). Furthermore, I don't see the need to constantly remark on the idea of feminism. Yes, there are many places where women are still repressed...but I think we've come a long way since 2013. There are so many NGOs, celebrities and even regular people who help towards women empowerment. We have reached an era where women empowerment or gender equality is not a major issue in many communities. I do agree that it has not been completely eradicated.
Writing articles on rituals that have been in practice for a long time, that don't even matter today is pointless. It's important to focus on real issues - child marriage, rape, women abuse...
And if this still does not convince you, get a court marriage done. But don't criticize your own (or other's) traditions and rituals. The actions of it do not matter anymore. Many rituals die out after sometime. No one is asking you to bow down and follow them. You can choose to do so or not. And on that note, Mom and Dad, you are most definitely invited to my wedding. I want you to see me go through all these traditions and laugh through them as we do so. Because they're just rituals...and after the wedding, it shall all go back to normal...because I will be a working woman...something that was not so common eras ago.
