According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s annual report in 2018, there was a total of 33,356 rape cases reported across India. About every 16 minutes a woman in India is raped. Thus, many human rights activists cite India as one of the most dangerous countries for women.
What makes the situation worse is that most of the sex offenders get away scot-free due to the lack of evidence and because they are sheltered by police, politicians, and even lawyers. In addition, India has a patriarchal society where men are favored and women are considered as “second-class citizens”. Astoundingly, the discrimination against women begins in the mother’s womb as India has a distorted sex-ratio of 924 females per 1,000 males. Although the preference for sons in the Indian culture is not as prevalent anymore, it still exists. Over the last three decades, it is estimated that India has lost up to 12 million baby girls as many parents have aborted the baby after discovering the sex of the fetus.
There are many reasons why Indian culture favors sons. For one, when daughters come to a marriageable age, the parents of the bride need to pay the groom’s family an expensive sum called a dowry. However, beyond the surface, it really comes down to the responsibilities of a son versus a daughter in the Indian culture. Today, these gender roles might come off as stereotypical, but for the elders they are traditional. Sons are typically responsible for earning an income to provide for the family, as their education is a top priority. On the other hand, daughters are trained to serve the household by doing all the chores.
Thankfully over the years, education has become available to both genders, allowing for a societal change. As more generations have earned their degrees, the culture has moved away from these traditional views in response. But this issue is still prominent in the lower class and socioeconomically disadvantaged families in India, like in the villages. I personally feel that a proper education gives such minorities the opportunities to better themselves and provide for themselves and their families. If the upward education trend continues, I believe the gap in the sex-ratio will decrease.
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Even though I am a second-generation US citizen, my parents still share some of the older traditional values from India. Growing up with a younger brother, I noticed some differences in how my parents dealt with us in certain situations, which my friends that have a brother can attest to as well. When it comes to going out to hang out with friends, my parents are picky with how long I can stay out until, while my 11-year old brother comes home whenever he wishes. At his age, I would have to be home before it got dark because it was supposedly not safe. Over the years, they have gotten more lenient as long as I tell them all the details of where I am going and who I am going there with. But, when it comes to hanging out with guy friends, there is always some hesitancy if there aren’t other girl friends around. Although I am thankful that my parents trust me and give me my space most times, they always give me lectures and warnings about being careful when they do not like the situation. However, it’s frustrating how my brother doesn’t get these lectures and they merely let him be. Additionally, in my immediate family, I am the only girl and I am the oldest child. You would think I would be informed about the things going on in my own family because of this, but I feel like my parents always shelter me from the news. It’s not even surprising anymore that my brother is informed of updates before I am regularly.
Both the differences in mine and my brother’s upbringings and the persistent infanticide in India reflect how generationally, parents have become more liberal and open to change, but still maintain some of the conservative beliefs that their own parents raised them on. Hopefully, when we become the older generation and raise our kids in suburban America, we become more accepting and understanding, given our own childhoods.
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