Are the educated and economically independent young women, a threat to the age -old traditions?
It’s the core nature of the society, to pull everyone into the fold of what the norm is. To conform to the rules that were set generation after generation, in the name of tradition or culture. That was the way of life. Sadly, most of those beliefs, favoured Men. For men, it suited them just fine. Now, when the women, who have been the victims of this skewed pattern, have raised their voice, to speak up for themselves, it’s become a new discussion point in the living rooms – Girls these days are too fast or ‘Padh-likh kar dimaag kharab ho gaya hai’. The lament is how come they are diverting from the roles, of being a daughter, a wife, a mother.
The truth is, there is no diversion, the young women are saying that we can be all of this and also be free -thinking individuals. So that they can take decisions regarding their career, time to get married, request for wedding vows to be equal, retain maiden surname, whether to have children, expect house- work sharing by the family. With education, comes the confidence to be economically independent and make choices, to dream of a life that they aspire for.
And those choices may not sit well with the immediate families where their own age-old beliefs are threatened. More so, while, living in a society set-up. Nobody wants to become a gossip material for others.
At times, we do see that youngsters become unnecessarily aggressive, to prove their point of view, in the name of freedom of speech and arrogance of being right. A good value-based education should bring in the Wisdom, to acknowledge that the thought process of the elders is, coming, from their own personal experiences, conditioning and a conforming traditional environment that they had lived in. They are also coping with the fast-changing times. Discussions done, within the realm of mutual respect, can help bring in the shift smoothly.
The young educated, financially independent girls are re-writing the rules of conservative traditions, which will be fair to them as well. We are witnessing a change in the mind-sets, especially in the urban, educated places in the capital city of India.
