It would be easy to judge Jodhpur as a conservative stronghold in India, stubbornly holding onto traditional values, dress, marriage codes, and eating habits, however, there are cracks visible through the dusty streets and market places opening directly to the modern world. The city, while clearly behind the progress of India’s booming metropolises, is a case study in India’s growing economy and changing society. The desire of young people to learn English and move to the city is of course a phenomenon in Jodhpur, but even more impressive are the changes the city is trying to make itself, improving colleges and roads in order to make Jodhpur itself more attractive to young Indians. The desire for change and growth is evident, and most of these changes probably should be welcomed.
As any developing country or city, there is trash everywhere and barely any garbage cans. People just throw their trash out the window or wherever is convenient. I think it would be a brilliant idea for a garbage company to start-up here (foreign or local) and it might give the people some more respect for their city! Plus it would cut down on smells, bugs, disease, and dogs that run rampant chewing and rolling in the garbage. I guess human rights should come first, but it certainly would be a change that would give the city a more positive reputation from tourists (though still quite few in number.
Women’s rights are still far from the liberal world’s standards. However, the teenage girls influenced by outside media and the allure of a modern lifestyle could quickly change traditional dress customs and roles of the women as only a housewife. Beyond dress though, women are still treated as second class citizens. They often eat before or after the rest of the family has eaten and often do not work outside the home. This too is changing rapidly among more affluent families, and many non-profits focusing on women’s rights are trying to increase employment opportunities for women. Women still face more dangers at night and it is absolutely taboo for a women to be seen drinking at a bar. You still get the frequent ‘rape stares’ as I call them, meaning a creepy man walks or drives past you looking like it would be bad news if you met him in a dark ally (don't’ worry mom and dad I’m not hanging out in dark allies), but perhaps these stares could also be attributed simply to my foreign appearance, despite the fact that I wear the traditional India kurti everyday.
Interestingly, my host mom had a love marriage herself. She told me it was very uncommon when she got married, and since she was breaking tradition she had to wait until she was thirty to get married, but eventually her family accepted her decision, and she could visit her parents house with her husband, who was actually two years younger than her (also a very rare match-up for traditional Indian marriage customs).
No comments:
Post a Comment