As I type this, I am on the last few hours of an 18 hour train ride to Jaisalmer, in the state of Rajasthan. Yesterday, before I left in the evening, I managed to get an interview with Suruchi Bazaz, the wife of our guest-house manager in New Delhi. Some of the information she gave me was confirmation of research I had done prior to this trip, but quite a bit of it was useful and expanded my knowledge of this topic. One thing she said was that rural India is quite different than the big cities, like New Delhi, and that I should be aware that the problems that happen in the urban areas are quite different than the ones in rural areas.
Mrs Bazaz explained to me how child marriages, now illegal, still happen, but more so in villages than in cities. Also, as soon as the girl is born, the family starts investing in her dowry instead of her education (a dowry is what the wife's family pays the husband's family when they get married). Also, the tradition of child marriages, especially when girls marry a man older than themselves, began in the past, because families wanted to protect their girl children from rape, kidnapping, and other liabilities, but now it usually only happens because the family is looking to get rid of the girl.
In India, gold jewelry is viewed as a woman's security. Often instead of saving for her education parents will put their money into jewelry for her instead. So, basically, parents of girls invest their money in a girls' 'security' and their dowry, and the parents of boys invest their money into his education, so he can get a good job and a good wife.
In terms of the issue of widows, the government is not focusing a lot of their attention on this problem. Although 'sati', which is when the widow jumps into the funeral pyre with her husband, is now outlawed, the widow is expected to give up all worldly pleasures and lead a life of mourning. Remarriage is not encouraged or expected even if the widow is very young. If a man's wife dies, he is encouraged to get remarried almost immediately. Widow discrimination is more culture based than religion based, and apparently has been around for a very long time. In terms of marriage, most women stay in marriages even when they are not happy, just because there is nothing else they can do for themselves. Divorce in India is legal, but it is not common and not usually smiled upon.
The government is leaning more towards helping women get more rights and education. It is more common for children to attend private schools in big cities and public schools in villages. Private schools are generally better to attend, since children get more of an education there, but it is hard to send supplies and teachers to rural areas, since they are so out of the way and spread apart. Apparently, it is more common nowadays for girls, mostly in big cities, to go on to post secondary education. However, girls do still drop out as early as 8 years old. Child labour is one of the main reasons why children drop out. For girls, the labour is usually housework, and for boys, it is more working jobs at factories and sweatshops.
Another topic was revealed to me in this interview, and this was the killing of baby girls. Often, parents who see the girls as a burden to them, will either get multiple abortions (Mrs. Bazaz told me of her friend who got twelve of them), or will kill them at birth. For this reason, it is illegal now for doctors to tell patients the gender of their child before birth, but often doctors will tell patients without really telling them. The doctors use a strategy where there are two sweets (candy) that are given out to family and friends at the birth of a child; one associated with boys, one with girls. A doctor will tell the patient to stock up on one of these particular sweets, basically telling them the gender of the baby.
Apart from my interview, things have been pretty good. We spent yesterday walking through the Qutib Minar, a historical mosque complex, and wandering through some markets before we got on the train. I have come down with a cold, but apart from that, the trip is going as planned and we only have a couple of hours left till we get to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is in the Thar desert, close to the border with Pakistan.
Mrs Bazaz explained to me how child marriages, now illegal, still happen, but more so in villages than in cities. Also, as soon as the girl is born, the family starts investing in her dowry instead of her education (a dowry is what the wife's family pays the husband's family when they get married). Also, the tradition of child marriages, especially when girls marry a man older than themselves, began in the past, because families wanted to protect their girl children from rape, kidnapping, and other liabilities, but now it usually only happens because the family is looking to get rid of the girl.
In India, gold jewelry is viewed as a woman's security. Often instead of saving for her education parents will put their money into jewelry for her instead. So, basically, parents of girls invest their money in a girls' 'security' and their dowry, and the parents of boys invest their money into his education, so he can get a good job and a good wife.
In terms of the issue of widows, the government is not focusing a lot of their attention on this problem. Although 'sati', which is when the widow jumps into the funeral pyre with her husband, is now outlawed, the widow is expected to give up all worldly pleasures and lead a life of mourning. Remarriage is not encouraged or expected even if the widow is very young. If a man's wife dies, he is encouraged to get remarried almost immediately. Widow discrimination is more culture based than religion based, and apparently has been around for a very long time. In terms of marriage, most women stay in marriages even when they are not happy, just because there is nothing else they can do for themselves. Divorce in India is legal, but it is not common and not usually smiled upon.
The government is leaning more towards helping women get more rights and education. It is more common for children to attend private schools in big cities and public schools in villages. Private schools are generally better to attend, since children get more of an education there, but it is hard to send supplies and teachers to rural areas, since they are so out of the way and spread apart. Apparently, it is more common nowadays for girls, mostly in big cities, to go on to post secondary education. However, girls do still drop out as early as 8 years old. Child labour is one of the main reasons why children drop out. For girls, the labour is usually housework, and for boys, it is more working jobs at factories and sweatshops.
Another topic was revealed to me in this interview, and this was the killing of baby girls. Often, parents who see the girls as a burden to them, will either get multiple abortions (Mrs. Bazaz told me of her friend who got twelve of them), or will kill them at birth. For this reason, it is illegal now for doctors to tell patients the gender of their child before birth, but often doctors will tell patients without really telling them. The doctors use a strategy where there are two sweets (candy) that are given out to family and friends at the birth of a child; one associated with boys, one with girls. A doctor will tell the patient to stock up on one of these particular sweets, basically telling them the gender of the baby.
Apart from my interview, things have been pretty good. We spent yesterday walking through the Qutib Minar, a historical mosque complex, and wandering through some markets before we got on the train. I have come down with a cold, but apart from that, the trip is going as planned and we only have a couple of hours left till we get to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is in the Thar desert, close to the border with Pakistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment