This article in The Guardian and the comments following it make very interesting reading. I don’t think about it much these days but I am so glad that I’ve escaped Indian culture. I think those two young feminists in the article have hit the nail on the head:

“…modern women are divided into “bad” and “good” according to what they wear, whether they go out after dark and whether they drink alcohol. “We are seeing a rise of moral policing, which blames those women who are not seen as being ‘good'”

My parents and indeed the wider community expected me to be a ‘good’ girl, especially before I got married. But I’ve ended up marrying someone who doesn’t care about any of those things. In one respect I am now the complete opposite of ‘good’: I work in my in-laws’ pub! But there isnt any question in my mind about my or my husbands morals. Basically, the rules for being ‘good’ are patriarchal bullshit. Yes, I’m angry about it.

Women being seen as inferior is a part of most cultures that I know of. In Hinduism it’s even mentioned in the scriptures that women are lesser than men. When I realised this in my twenties I found it so condescending that I abandoned Hinduism altogether. I’ve never looked back.

I think the problem of violence towards women in India is due to a lack to respect towards women that is ingrained in the culture in many ways. The dowry tradition, which still goes on to an extent in my own community, devalues women. It is a completely outdated practice anyway as most women in my community pay their own way by working. The frowning upon women who go out and have a drink sends the message that women are second class citizens; they are not allowed the same pleasures as men. And women being seen and treated as objects for sexual gratification translates to women not even being regarded as human.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Indian culture, even in Indian communities in Britain, is going to change any time soon.