Commentary and Analysis of the Movie: Matrubhoomi: A Nation without Women

In the typical Indian family, gender construction manifests itself especially in the roles of men and women in the household. As Judith Lorber so aptly put, “gender is a process of creating distinguishable social statuses for the assignment of rights and responsibilities” which in turn, creates the social differences that define a “man” and “woman” (Lorber). It is these differences that are used to construct and maintain an established gender order within the family. In the conventional Indian family, the order is such that the roles of the women in the household revolve around the roles of the men. This structure was something that I saw from an early age in my parents’ marriage. Though my parents defied the Indian norm of the arranged marriage, they still represented the quintessential model of an Indian couple in many other ways. My mother left her job to become a stay-at-home mom when I was about six years old. However, even before she left her job, she was implicitly expected by my father to shoulder most of the housework including cooking, cleaning, and caring for my older brother

Gender inequality is displayed in many countries around the globe. In India, the society begins gendering as soon as a child is born. In most cases, the birth of a daughter is unwelcome but that of a son is celebrated. The boys are brought up bold and outgoing while the girls are expected to be at home and do chores. While the other discriminations like economic or social discriminations are present outside the home, but gender discrimination is present outside and inside households. In a familial setup, the father is the head of the family and decision maker. The mother generally performs the ‘home making’. Even if the woman is employed, she is expected to do the domestic chores, in addition to her job. Even though she earns, she does not have the freedom to plan her salary or decide anything.

In the book, Arranged Marriage, by Chitra Divakaruni there are multiple stories that demonstrate arranged marriages from within the Indian culture. In some cases, arranged marriages work out better than others. However, in the short stories in her book, most don’t work out positively. In the short stories, “The Bats” and “The Disappearance”, the arranged marriages don’t work out. Chitra Divakaruni’s viewpoint on arranged marriages is clearly negative, due to violence, and the effect on children.

Girls all over the world are forced into marriages due to financial necessity, tradition and to ensure their future. Most of these girls married are at a young age: “One third of the world’s girls are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15”( “Child Marriage Facts and Figures”). The young ages of those being married reveal how crucial it is to resolve this problem. When child marriage occurs the parents of the bride usually chose the groom for their daughters; and these grooms can be three times older than the young brides. Some children are brought into the world of marriage at the of 8 or sometimes less depending on their cultural views. The following can be used to help reduce the impact of early

Rena Silverman, in his article Millions of Young Girls Forced into Marriage wrote that “Driven largely by ……….family members”. The physical and emotional consequences can be very fatal. Since some decade, people give their daughter in forced marriage, when they are generally poor. This being the Dot is a tradition in a marriage will make the fiancée 's family meet its needs. Forced marriage is to be married for the cattle, food or money, also, for the transmission of belongings. After the husband death, the son of the legal wife will inherit of all his property; which will become her own. For this reason parents give their daughter in marriage to have money to stay alive. Yana T. Child marriage problem: causes and consequences said “Parents who cannot provide …………. to ensure she is supported”.

“Arranging a Marriage in India” by Serena Nanda is an insightful article in my opinion. As an American, our culture regarding marriage is very basic with searching for love on our own and then deciding for ourselves who we should marry or even if we shall marry at all. This article gives insight into how this process is viewed as acceptable and the complex process of arranging a marriage for a son.

This joint family, like any social organization, must face problems such as acceptable division of work, relationships and specific family roles. These familial relationships are managed on the basis of a secular hierarchical principle. In fact, all Indians owe respect and obedience to the head of the family, who usually is the father or the oldest man of the family community. In The Gift of a Bride: A Tale of Anthropology, Matrimony and Murder by Nanda and Gregg, it is explained that, “females [are] placed under the perpetual guardianship of first their fathers and elder brothers, then their husbands.” (Nanda & Gregg 22) Thus, all the spending decisions, studies and profession, or marriage, are exclusively the responsibility of the father after the possible discussions with the other men of the family. Age and sex are the basic principles of this hierarchical system. The eldest sons enjoy greater unchallenged authority than their cadets. Of course men have more authority than women, but older married women have an important role within the family. In fact, the authority of a woman depends on the rank of her husband inside the group. Traditionally, the wife of the patriarch rules over domestic affairs and has considerable power over the other women in the community, especially her daughters- in-law.

Parent understand that their girls are a burden and their sons are a gift, and this is what their sons and daughters grow up believing. The dowry placed on girls plays greatly into the sex-selected abortion rate in India. Boys are plainly and simply a better financial investment. Boys will not cost the parents money for marriage, in fact, with a marriage, they are guaranteed to make the parents money. Parents forced with the decision to have a girl and deal with the financial consequences, or abort and hope and pray for better luck in the gender of their child next time around. Quite often they chose the

The parents of a bride and groom made the decision as to who their child would marry with no consideration of their child’s wishes or needs. These arranged marriages were created more like business decisions than romantic unions of men and women. These marriages were usually arranged between a bride and groom who came from families with like economic backgrounds. (Tamura, E., 1997) Additionally, these arranged marriages were not harmonious unions.

In modern culture and fully developed nations, the ideology of an arranged marriage is a foreign concept, but in reality the global percentage of arranged marriages is 60 (Toledo 1). Although the majority of these arranged marriages occur in Asian countries such as India and China, this type of matrimony should also be prominently implemented into the society of modernized nations like the United States. Before arranged marriages can completely fuse into industrialized cultures, one must fully understand the concept of an arranged marriage. As commonly thought, parents do not always select the marital partners in arranged marriages; spouses can also be chosen by a community, elders, matchmakers, or religious leaders ("Arranged...

The reason for this is because a son is known to take care of the elderly parents, and also when a couple has a daughter who is ready to be married, they must shower the man's family with gifts. These gifts are called dowry, and every family with a son getting married expects it. Women who can not produce a son or do something to upset their husband are often brutally abused, and sometimes even killed. They can be beaten, poisoned, or even set on fire. A Nova 2004 PBS documentary World in Balance- The People Paradox, tells viewers about these issues. The documentary focuses on India and the issues with how fast their population is growing. One reason for this is because parents will continue to produce kids until they give birth to a son. The film says, “ An estimated 25,000 women are killed or brutally abused each year over dowry and domestic disputes. Or even over failure to produce a son.” It is very clear that what these brides go through is not right. They do not deserve to be physically abused because of something they can not even control. These kinds of issues do not occur at all or nearly as often in non patriarchal societies as they do in dominantly patriarchal

In todays globalized world a lack in social welfare can affect the social function, and result in divorce. Marriage is an important social institution between two families and not just two individuals. Women play the passive and motherhood gender role while men primarily the dominant role. Although customs play a role in parents grooming and prepare their daughters for marriage, sometimes the benefits outweigh the costs. Some young women are too naïve thinking they will be compatible with their mate simply because their parents and grandparents did without realizing the good and bad that come with marriage. There is situation where women are forces into marriage due to economic prosperities through dowry payments. As wonderful a person may

The concepts of arrange marriages seems impractical to American society, but in India it is a culture that is still being practiced to this day, and still preferred even though modernization has been changing India. Arranged marriages are a good way for the family to make sure there son/daughter marry into the right religion, social order, and class. To make sure that no mishaps happen the boys and girls are often separated. Meaning going to a different school, girls are faced with more restrictions in some cases talking to boys is frowned upon. To insure the female doesn’t get to promiscuous she is married off early on even before the legal age 18. I found an article that looked at the statistics taken from a survey “found that 74% of young Indian women (18-35 yrs) prefer an arranged marriage over free- choice.” And “90% percent are arranged” (2015, November). As a young women growing up in the American society and the way our culture is free willed marry whom you choice to make a life with best blessings and all. And learning about the Indian culture, at first the feelings I felt were 1) offensive as if we cant choice our own mate for our self but chosen for us. 2) Confusion of why the culture chooses to do that.

The causes of child marriage often stem from tradition and gender norms within the community. However, child marriages can also be a result of severe poverty; the dowry, or “price of the bride,” may be needed for a family’s survival. Even security plays a role in the decision, as parents may believe their daughter will be safer in a marriage than unwed.

Nowdays, marriage become so complicated since free will marriage and arranged marriage issue increasing in new genarations. Marriage has dependably been an indispensable piece of the life of individuals everywhere throughout the world.