The Channel 46
Women have long been made to feel guilty and ashamed in everyday circumstances. Almost every facet of our way of life is geared for us to either overthink or underplay. Society has a way of making us feel that everything we do is wrong, from being too pushy to being too kind. Ye mat karo, wo mat karo. We live in a society that constantly dictates terms to women about kya sahi aur kya galat behaviour hai. To punish us if we don’t adhere to their rigid and arbitrary norms, our society has created these extraterrestrial codes of conduct for women. As if living up to cultural ideals of an “ideal” woman were the only goal in life for women because “log kya kahenge.”
5 Criticisms Married Women Often Face
Not Wanting To Do Household Chores Imagine this Indian household. The daughter picks up the plates and is cleaning the table while the son idles at the sofa and watches TV. Got it, right? Har ghar ki kahani. Almost all, if not all. It is quite unsettling to think how the thought that household chores are solely the wife’s job is subconsciously ingrained in her mind right from childhood. Not because they need to be independent but rather because they will eventually become wives.
Having Strong Opinions A woman with strong opinions is viewed as being aggressive. She is tagged as being excessively brazen, rude, and not at all lady-like. Since sexism permeates our society, if you had genuine opinions, people would disregard them and disregard you. In all honesty, guys would still prefer dealing with your direct male subordinate, even if you are the reporting manager.
Not Wanting To Have Sex At Times How women are still struggling in India to make marital rape a crime is extremely upsetting. Because the husband legally owns his wife’s body and is free to do as he pleases, when he pleases. Society holds that the concept of consent does not exist in marriages. A woman’s moral obligation to her husband after marriage is to have sex with him, which was once completely prohibited for her. Whether she wants to or not, she should give it to his whims and fancies every time.
Not Being Physically “Perfect” In our culture, marriage is the centre of everything. For a man to honour you with the distinction of being his wife, you must be stunning and the ideal size and shape. You need to be a trophy wife, an object that he can flaunt as his conquered treasure. The marriage certificate serves as a stamp of relevance for women in modern society. And, oh, let’s not even get to the obsession for fair complexion.
Drinking Maryada kahan hai? The gender narrative that believes males to be superior beings defines our dos and don’ts. Men can drink because “men will be men”, but virtuous women have to refrain from doing so since it violates their sense of modesty. One had unlimited freedom on earth simply by being a male. If you’re a lady, what then? You’d better get in the kitchen and start cooking.
The Channel 46