Conflict in the Indian Culture

Conflict in the Indian Culture in Reference to Gender Equality

Conflict occurs in every culture regardless of which culture it is, where the people come from, or who the conflict is between. These specifications of the actual conflict, however, do alter how each conflict is approached and handled. Focusing on the Indian culture, it is notorious that the female gender is evidently oppressed and subjugated. Going back centuries into the Indian culture, females have always had the title of being the caretakers, homemakers, and "say yes-ers". Males on the other hand are known to be the guardians of the family name, the source of income, and the sole reason a family ceases to exist. 

As much as I like to think that we live in a modern world with changing thoughts and evolving perceptions about gender equality--not all has changed. I do agree that change is upon us, even in the Indian culture, but a slow, very gradual change. What has come to be seen is the exhaustion of the females in the Indian country. Women are mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted fighting with and having to live up to the female standard, whilst being condemned for being anything but those standards. What this is doing is causing the women of India to take on roles of leadership, education, and independence, not only to spite the backwards old fashioned people in the country, but to also diminish this inequality gap. As an Indian female myself, I hear it all the time. "Why are you in school? Stay home and take care of the house. Get married, find yourself a doctor so you don't have to worry about anything." Nonsense, utter nonsense. 

Not only does this create conflict between generations of family and family beliefs, but also creates a conflict between the females of this culture. Females begin to put another down rather than uplift one another if their beliefs don't align. They point fingers at the woman that is going on to become a successful, educated woman. This conflict has been lingering throughout the Indian culture for decades. Women were meant to stay at home, watch the kids. Men were meant to go to school (maybe), work. In India, "proportion of girls who are able to attend school in India continues to remain low in comparison to that of boys their age" (6). The conflict that lies: where the Indian men have been strengthened to believe in their endeavors, Indian women have become weakened and discouraged from theirs. 

Not to be discouraged, though. The Indian women have been empowered by the shortcomings of their people around them. Indian women have created numerous amounts of campaigns to realign the values of the country and adapt them to the changing values of the world--to finally let women live their lives to their fullest potential. Conflict has not ceased, nor will it ever, but it is becoming less and less prominent. 

Works Cited:

 "Indian Girls Demand Equal Access to Education." UNICEF. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.