While we are fighting for our women to be strong, independent and bold, there is still a segment of our society that believes women don’t deserve the right of free will. Even if she is educated and financially independent.
In the past, the Khap panchayats of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have been known for their conservative views on women’s freedom. Virtually defending the killings of the girls for the sake of family honor, a powerful ‘khap panchayat’ (caste panchayat) denounced love marriages and has made it clear that the girls can not be given the freedom to choose their partners.
The Baghpat-based Balian Khap’s leader Naresh Tikait said on Thursday that they will never accept girls marrying as per their choice. As per the sources, Naresh Tikait told reporters-
“Parents are not only emotionally attached to girls, but have also spent their hard-earned savings on bringing her up. The girl child owns an obligation to take vital decisions of her life with the assent of her family members.”
He further added:
“We educate the girls, invest Rs 20-30 lakh in their education. When she marries by her own choice, then the entire family is devastated. Love marriage is a wrong practice and will never be acceptable to us.”
Naresh Tikait, Balian Khap Choudhary in Baghpat: Hum ladkiyon ko padhavein, unki padhai mein 20-30 lakh kharch karein aur shadi vo karlein apni marzi se, toh pariwar toh barbaad ho jaata hain. Prem vivah bahut galat hain, hum iski kabhi bhi manzoori nahi denge. pic.twitter.com/Au5mqXImH6
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 21, 2019
It is disheartening to see how these local groups perceive women and their rights to live life on their own terms. Those who gather the courage to fight against this rudimentary thought-process, are the ones who face societal punishments – their families being ostracised and subjected to social boycott.
In a separate incident, showcasing their rudimentary thought process, Chattisgarh Panchayat fined a woman, because she gathered the courage to report her rapists’ to police.
At IFORHER, we hang our heads in shame as we wonder how even in the 21st century, a huge segment of our society believes that women don’t deserve the right to choose. We wish they would stop treating women like cattle – with no rights and no free will.
