Does the modern day girl have that kind of strength?

To many, values seem archaic. Values sound synonymous to being outdated beliefs and superstitions; things that would hold you back from following your dreams. The values that many of the young are pleading to shun today, are values that would give immense strength if understood.

Why these values are respected, and put forward by many educated and learned people, is that these values, aim towards uniting.

Values such as loyalty and integrity, bring in a lot of stability into a relationship. Today many relationships, suffer because ‘Compromise’ has begun to sound very close to ‘Sacrifice’.

Where everybody realises, that relationships are not easy to maintain, yet even a bit of a compromise has started to incite rebellion amongst women. Doesn’t a full time job require some compromises here and there? Be it any commitment in life, a new venture, a new task at hand, a new project etc, or a new relationship, the real ability to achieve success is to actually fulfil the commitment without cribbing about the things you lost in the way. We definitely can’t have everything in life, but we can surely get what we want the most. And choosing something that would ease out some stress with your partner isn’t a bad option.

Certainly, this doesn’t mean that giving up on all that you want is always the option. For example, one should be free to choose who to be or not to be with, but many a youth completely discard the idea of a marriage, just because they feel it is a traditional concept to be adopted in the modern day. Or for some reason, many believe that marriage prohibits progress.

Have married women not made progress in the history and today? Or does feminism has just started to mean rebel? These have become prime modern day concerns.

Modern women have also displayed brilliant examples of immense strength. And these successful women, believe that family, is a major source of strength to them.

The biggest misconception lies in the myth that the western culture, is more liberal. For all the people who detest honour killings, there were strict laws in the USA and Europe (Continents whose culture seems to attract many of us today!), miscegenation was a strict criminal offence. Couples marrying outside their races were looked down upon for a very long time. What we need to understand is that traditions, need to change with time. But values needn’t be shunned. What the liberal culture has managed to encourage, is an easy escape to a relationship, as soon as there is a rough or difficult phase. But escapism is not what Indian women in the past have exhibited. They have been the epitome of balance and adaptation. And these qualities are symbols of solidarity.

A separation in most scenarios leads to depression, and trauma for either of the partners. Any relationship between two people, requires a stable and strong mind. Our traditional values of loyalty and integrity have a huge role to play when it comes to our relationships. More often than not, we, as Indian women, know how hard it is, to break a relationship with our partner. And that is not something which should be detested. Relationships truly are the solid foundations of our lives.

Weddings have been a huge celebration in our country, because we celebrate the beginning of a relationship that is the foundation for the rest of our lives. Families uniting, to stand by each other during difficult times; health wise or financially. Where else in the world do we find people flying miles, spending hoards of money for others? Weddings are not celebrated anywhere as much as in our country, because Indians want to celebrate relationships in a grand way. It is because of these very values, that we are proud to have one of the smallest percentages of divorce rates in the world! Ignoring the blind superstitions that come as a tag to culture, or tradition, Indian women have come a long way, ahead of their western counterparts. Cultural values are mostly aesthetic, (choice of clothes, taste, music, arts, dance), and these values are integrated in our system merely to keep us united.

Sadly, we might have started adopting ‘women’s day’ feeling united with all the pink power, but the very core of our culture which has a deeper meaning, is ignored.

From ‘ghoonghats‘ to other myriad forms of violence that take place against women in India, everything is blamed on the rustic Indian culture. Chauvinistic men, passing lewd comments on women, their dressing, and education, are soon stamped as patent products of the Indian ‘reet’ (age old tradition). Such is our media and honourable journals, who blare out the negative side effects of our culture, and tradition almost daily.  Today, in an era of economical and political turmoil, when our country has a dire need to be united, shunning our culture is the last thing we could resort to. Our culture need not take up the burden of each and every injustice done to a woman in the history and today.