the women of india, true india

i was just going through youtube and came across this video about the "women of india", supposedly the women of substance.(sounds so sarcastic)and then later in the day a few headlines about women exploitation just made me think where are we heading?????? HERE is the story

of women in rural India , the true India..

When she was born, the father was not happy. He wanted a boy. There were no celebrations. The mother understood, she knew the ways of the world. The mother took her baby girl under her wing and as soon as she learnt to talk, the mother started to teach her how to laugh softly, how to run lightly, how to speak with eyes and head bowed. In short, she was taught how to be a girl - a decent, household girl. She was never allowed to venture out, never allowed to play like the boys. But she adjusted.

Robbed of her childhood, she was also prohibited from continuing with her studies past matric because the father did not want the society to talk. That would bring disrespect to the whole family. From the age of seven, she was given regular cooking and cleaning tuitions. That is, she was taught how to be a good wife, a wife who would keep the dinner ready when her husband came home from a hard day at work, a wife who would follow every command of her husband’s without question. But she adjusted

She reached the age of fifteen and the father started looking for a suitable groom for her. Noone protested. She was taught to not protest, to listen and to follow every command issued by anyone wearing pants. The mother would have protested, had she the right to. All that the mother could do was pray, and arrange an excellent tea when the groom and his people visited. But she adjusted.

Then she was examined from every angle like a piece of furniture is examined for any damage at a store. She was asked to sing by her would-be mother-in-law. She was asked to display her work with the needle. She was asked to show her cooking. Even when everything was alright and she was beautiful, she was asked for dowry, else she could continue looking for someone else. But she adjusted.

Then came the wedding. Dowry was given, a lot of it. They should not have any complaints. She was to leave her mother and go to this alien household, to live with this man who was about 10 years older than her, and God knows what horrors he would unleash on her that night. All these made her cling onto her mother. But in the end, she went, she adjusted.

She utilised every lesson that she was taught by her mother at this new place, but never managed to please them. She cooked, she cleaned, she washed, she scrubbed, yet she was always the cause of their discomfort. She underwent the pain of giving birth. She raised the children lovingly, they were her only comfort, now that she was allowed no contact with her mother. She knew that her daughters would probably have the same fate, and so she taught them whatever her mother had taught her. She went on adjusting.

She is a mother, she is a sister, she is the friend,she is the soulmate, she is the one who gave you birth, she is the goddess, she is everything but then may be she is nothing ,but just one of the many unfortunate women of India