First Day in New Delhi

 We have officially arrived in India (approx. 1:30 a.m., New Delhi time), but before I begin to go head on into my project, I figured I should give some background information on my three topics, in regards to women’s rights.

In Indian culture, the husband is regarded as the status role in the family, whereas the wife is in a lesser position. Therefore, once the wife loses her husband, she practically becomes an outcaste in her society. Although she might try to live with her family, chances are that they won’t be able to support her, or they will not want anything to do with her. This leaves her little option to either spend her days begging while living in seclusion, earn a living through prostitution, or to flee the country. No matter which situation, none are easy to make and will most definitely result in regret, guilt, and pain.

Child marriages are an extremely big problem in India. Though illegal now, children, mostly girls, are often married off at a very young age; either to another young child, or to an older man. This often happens, because girls are seen as burdens to their families, and therefore they invest very little in their education or future, leaving them very little option but to marry them off at a young age. Usually, when they’re first married off, the girl stays with her parents until she hits puberty, then she goes to live with her husband. She will often bear children at quite a young age, and at some times, her husband will die while she Is still young, leaving her to become a widow, which results in more problems.

Some of the main reasons why girls never attend school or stay in school are the cost of education, or they are not interested in education, or they don’t consider it necessary or needed for work around the house. In India, about one quarter of the population cannot read or write.  And to make matters worse, without education, women lack the ability to speak out about their discrimination.

Arriving at 1:30 this morning, and waking up at about 9:00, I was very jet lagged today (see the picture of me asleep at the Frankfurt airport en route to Delhi). Nevertheless, my family and I still managed to visit central New Delhi, and see some of the sights. So far, I have not witnessed too much gender discrimination in New Delhi. In fact, when I stepped out of the airport this morning, I saw in the parking lot a case of handicrafts made by women entrepreneurs, to show their growing empowerment. I found this interesting to see, as it showed me how people are starting to realize and focus on these issues, seeing them as a major problem.