a girl is not a wife waiting to happen...

If a girl is brought up to respect herself, uphold her dignity, cherish her dreams and be happy, then she will certainly fulfil with élan the roles assigned to her by nature. She should be brought up to be a fine human being, and not a fine woman who can be easily ‘gloved' into the mould prepared for her by social convention. There is no need to train a girl to be subservient, to suffer in silence, to be meek and humble and bear her lot without complaints in order to make a marriage work. Instead, she should be motivated to be a person of integrity, with a keen sense of social values and a sense of responsibility. We should bear in mind that a girl is not a wife waiting to happen. She is first and foremost a human being, and therefore must be brought up to be a good and self-sustaining person.

It also made me wonder whether wedlock is truly marriage or bondage if the wife alone suffers in silence and willingly obliges every single wish and whim of her husband and his family, and endures all humiliation stoically and uncomplainingly. Will there be true happiness in such a marriage? If this is what made marriages in the past work, then they should be called by any name other than marriage.

And to think that marriage is the only trade where the purchaser is not the privileged owner!

The Hindu : Opinion / Open Page : Not a wife waiting to happen