I'm going to start off by saying that I love being Indian. I can do a lot more to appreciate my culture and my ethnicity, but I love it nonetheless. I love my birthplace, my culture, the weddings, the dresses, the food...there are so many things that I just adore.
Its standards for me, however, not so much.
Why is menstruation such a taboo?
I am so blessed to have a father who doesn't care as much as others, but so many women literally sit in a corner of a room because they are "impure". Because of that, they aren't allowed to take part in festivities or holidays. My aunt, for example, sits in a corner of the house for ten days at a time, who was refused to celebrate her own birthday because she was on her period.
Why do I have to get married before I'm thirty? Or even at all for that matter?
Why is it that I have seen no Indian women above the age of 25 unmarried? I know its a personal choice, but some of these women are forced into these marriages solely because if they wait until after they're thirty, their parents won't get proper matches. For example, my cousin whose parents are looking for matches, while she is only 21. They say it is " because she won't be young forever".
Why do I have to cook and clean?
I see women (i.e.my mom, her friends, the mothers of my friends, etc.) who dedicate their lives to taking care of the house and children, with no help from their husbands. Women should choose what they want to do, and if being a homemaker is one of them then so be it, but they are expected to give up their hopes, dreams, and aspirations to take care of their households. My mother, for instance, who was forced to give up a career so she could start a family.
Why do I need to have children?
Why is it necessary for me to reproduce? Maybe I don't like children and the responsibility of it scares me. I should be able to do what I want and not be ostracized from a community for wanting to travel without any obligations. For example, when I told the ladies in my family that doesn't want children, they stopped all action. The room was dead silent, and they were all looking at each other, me, and my mother, probably thinking, " she spoiled her child". They whispered amongst themselves about me as I left the room.
All in all, I'm not saying that my culture or my parents is terribly oppressive, but our cultural society needs to stop judging people for having their choices.
