• Tanvhi Ghosh

Since time immemorial men have been accepted as the superior, dominant and powerful section as compared to women being tagged as inferior, non-dominant and oppressed section. The so-called term ‘feminity’ is always kept in a disadvantageous position as opposed to ‘masculinity’ occupying the dominant place for discussion in every patriarchal society. The feminist thinkers are of the view that women often appear to be the victims of social norms, domestic and social violence, social injustice, etc. because of their sex. Notably in a study it was found that the actual identity of an American woman either White or Black is equated with the notion of inferiority and she is reduced to the bottom position unless she shares bed with the top (the man). Again in India the ancient scriptures, monuments, idols, etc. have reflected women as the symbol of ‘Shakti’, ‘Durga’, ‘Devi’, ‘Lakhsmi’, ‘Kali’, etc. but in actual world particularly in India the case is something different. If women would have been seen from a respectful eye and were accorded the higher status then there would have been no more brutalities, gendered-related violence, rapes, human trafficking, domestic violence, etc. against women. It is important to note that in a recent poll by Thomas Reuters Foundation, India as regard to women’s safety occupied the rank of least safe country in the world because of its worst records of sexual violence like rape, sexual harassment and other forms of violence being inflicted against women. This reveals that how our society is encouraging gender discrimination against women. Gender discrimination has been a universal phenomenon since the functioning of human society. This can again be witnessed through the preference of a boy child more than that of a girl child by expecting parents and their family in every patriarchal society. There is no place for doubts to reveal that the inferiority complex attached to the identity of women itself operates in the family (the most dominant social institution of the patriarchal structure of our society) which in return justifying the evils of unequal marriage system. Notably the first threat to the self identity of a woman after her marriage can be revealed by the change of her sir name. However, very few economically independent married women have been able to preserve their identity without changing their sir names. But those employed women too are left with the responsibility of managing the domestic works along with their career. However, in many cases women after marriage are found to be economically, socially and politically deprived which make them helpless to take stand for themselves, to preserve their self identity as an independent social being thereby making their condition more vulnerable. After marriage women are being forced either to keep their presence outside of the public sphere or being manipulated to come out of the public sphere. By this men try to play the role of breadwinners, decision makers, professionals or industrialists thereby reducing the role of women only to home makers, mothers, wives, care takers, etc. It is important to point out that the institution of marriage has been playing an immense role in shaping gender related stereotypes in the family of which women appear to be the main victims. Sexual division of labour in the family is the result of the social construction that tends to attach the picture of domestic bliss only to the women section. In this regard mention needs to be made about radical feminists like Kate Millet who in ‘Sexual Politics’ argued that men have been exercising domination over women through social authority and economic force. Again it is to be noted that men both in private sphere (household) as well as in public sphere have been exercising domination over the female section. Men along with exercising domination over the women in workplace are also found exercising control and domination (in the form of emotional and physical oppression) over their women/wives within the family. Men are trying to control, dominate and oppress their women/wives either by sexually abusing them or confining them within the domestic sphere .It is the patriarchal society in general and the family and its patriarchal structure of marriage system in particular that have been perpetuating violence, discrimination and injustice towards women. In a democratic country like India both men and women should be ensured equal rights of self-determination, right to life, liberty and property but these rights of a woman automatically get vanished once she is married. A woman by dint of her marriage is identified by the social and economic status of her husband thereby ruining her own self identity. Now the most important questions that arise here as regard to the identity of married women are-‘Do woman and man as wife and husband are treated as equal marriage partners?’, ‘Does a woman posses equal rights to make decision for herself after being married as per with her husband?’, ‘Does a woman need to surrender her self-identity as an independent being for marriage?’ and so on.

Marriage as an Equal Social Contract between partners in the Family: The Biggest ‘Myth’ of Our Society.

"Marriage as an Equal Social Contract between partners in the Family: The Biggest ‘Myth’ of Our Society. ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 8, page no.1853-1857, August-2020, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2008245.pdf

"Marriage as an Equal Social Contract between partners in the Family: The Biggest ‘Myth’ of Our Society. ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 8, page no. pp1853-1857, August-2020, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2008245.pdf