Disclaimer: This post might seem to be offensive to many, however , if you understand the true meaning of what I intend to say, it should not be offensive.
For quite a while now I wanted to write about it. The question is of women education, and particularly with respect to women education in India.In the last couple of years, I have started to look upon things in a different light which is quite different from what I used to when I was back in my school or engineering days. In those days, I had never considered this, or it never came to my mind "what next". Being a girl and getting myself educated had absolutely zero correlation in my mind.It never occurred to me, that there are different ways and different goals of getting educated.This blog particularly deals with the kind of education that is meant for marriage.
We must confess that a majority part of women education in India today is meant for getting a good husband instead of a good profession- off-course if you consider being housewife a full-time profession then it would be getting a better employer. So getting a Google vs some local grocery retailer.So parents of this category start nurturing their daughters right from childhood in the absolutely goal oriented way( as they do not want to get a low ROI in return of their investments on daughters' education).Because otherwise, if you look at it from purely practical point of view, leaving aside the parental love, spending money on daughters' education turns out to be perfectly a bankrupt business! You have to anyways pay dowry for her, expenditures on marriage ceremony are always twice on brides' side than on grooms',you are never supposed to accept any money from her(even if she earns), and also, there is the long term risk of EMI dowries that might continue to n number of years to come.
Let's look at it the other way round.Many of such girls who have been "granted" the privilege of education by parents on the sole reason that they will get a "good" husband,do turn out to be good students as well.At some point during their educational years, they become more focused on the short term goal of getting good marks, getting through competitive exams, getting a good job, than what they are finally destined to do.This creates a problem, in the sense, that these girls, who are master degree holders or PhDs,do end up taking the seats which could have been "rightfully" of some hardworking guy who could be the breadwinner of the family and could have contributed to the GDP.
Aren't those guys deprived in that sense?These Phd girls at the end , mostly end up reaching their long term goal, either get an NRI husband or getting married to some ex-zamindar family! They can elevate the status of their husbands by being highly educated, proficient in English,smart, having good sense of fashion , yet not earning or earning very less,and being always available to act at husband and in-laws' discretion.Basically they are like organic vegetables with unknown side-effects.
We do also have parallel education meant for these girls like those of correspondence course, and open university degrees.Those are perfectly alright. Every human being has his or her right to do what they want. And it does not waste a seat that could have been potentially used by a guy.But then what about the good college, good degree holders - the capable housewives! One may say that it can be solely her decision..I completely agree..I have seen my mother as one of them, who in-spite of going against every one's wish(including my fathers) decided not to work.And the same applies to all those who had to decide in the greater good of the family.This blog is not about them. Because they took their own decisions. It is about those girls who have been educated but education gave the powers only to get an NRI husband and not the confidence to decide and be herself.
One may debate that right to education is one of the fundamental rights and one cannot be denied with that, even if the goal is to get married.In my personal view, I would say the same too. Because, even if these girls lack in their individuality, but still , at least they have the means to regain their individuality, at any point when they so decide.Education opens to them the means of reaching far ends, knowing what is happening, what are there options.And at any point, be it for family emergency or their own need, they can fly with those rusty wings...they are still wings you know!
For quite a while now I wanted to write about it. The question is of women education, and particularly with respect to women education in India.In the last couple of years, I have started to look upon things in a different light which is quite different from what I used to when I was back in my school or engineering days. In those days, I had never considered this, or it never came to my mind "what next". Being a girl and getting myself educated had absolutely zero correlation in my mind.It never occurred to me, that there are different ways and different goals of getting educated.This blog particularly deals with the kind of education that is meant for marriage.
We must confess that a majority part of women education in India today is meant for getting a good husband instead of a good profession- off-course if you consider being housewife a full-time profession then it would be getting a better employer. So getting a Google vs some local grocery retailer.So parents of this category start nurturing their daughters right from childhood in the absolutely goal oriented way( as they do not want to get a low ROI in return of their investments on daughters' education).Because otherwise, if you look at it from purely practical point of view, leaving aside the parental love, spending money on daughters' education turns out to be perfectly a bankrupt business! You have to anyways pay dowry for her, expenditures on marriage ceremony are always twice on brides' side than on grooms',you are never supposed to accept any money from her(even if she earns), and also, there is the long term risk of EMI dowries that might continue to n number of years to come.
Let's look at it the other way round.Many of such girls who have been "granted" the privilege of education by parents on the sole reason that they will get a "good" husband,do turn out to be good students as well.At some point during their educational years, they become more focused on the short term goal of getting good marks, getting through competitive exams, getting a good job, than what they are finally destined to do.This creates a problem, in the sense, that these girls, who are master degree holders or PhDs,do end up taking the seats which could have been "rightfully" of some hardworking guy who could be the breadwinner of the family and could have contributed to the GDP.
Aren't those guys deprived in that sense?These Phd girls at the end , mostly end up reaching their long term goal, either get an NRI husband or getting married to some ex-zamindar family! They can elevate the status of their husbands by being highly educated, proficient in English,smart, having good sense of fashion , yet not earning or earning very less,and being always available to act at husband and in-laws' discretion.Basically they are like organic vegetables with unknown side-effects.
We do also have parallel education meant for these girls like those of correspondence course, and open university degrees.Those are perfectly alright. Every human being has his or her right to do what they want. And it does not waste a seat that could have been potentially used by a guy.But then what about the good college, good degree holders - the capable housewives! One may say that it can be solely her decision..I completely agree..I have seen my mother as one of them, who in-spite of going against every one's wish(including my fathers) decided not to work.And the same applies to all those who had to decide in the greater good of the family.This blog is not about them. Because they took their own decisions. It is about those girls who have been educated but education gave the powers only to get an NRI husband and not the confidence to decide and be herself.
One may debate that right to education is one of the fundamental rights and one cannot be denied with that, even if the goal is to get married.In my personal view, I would say the same too. Because, even if these girls lack in their individuality, but still , at least they have the means to regain their individuality, at any point when they so decide.Education opens to them the means of reaching far ends, knowing what is happening, what are there options.And at any point, be it for family emergency or their own need, they can fly with those rusty wings...they are still wings you know!
