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Aiming at stars, but ending up scullions
BUTWAL, SEP 01 -
Tahura Khatun, 24, always dreamt of living an independent life. To make her dream come true, she studied hard and scored good grades in her school and college life. After wearing the crown of Bachelor’s degree-holder, she landed her first ever job in a financial institution at her hometown in Butwal.
A few months after she dabbled in the banking and financial sector her parents married her off. To her utter surprise, Khatun was forced to quit her first job that could pave the way for better career prospects in her future.
“I was not allowed to continue the job after I got married,” Khatun says. “Both my husband’s family as well as my own told me I should focus on household affairs.”
A gullible Khatun could not protest, instead she shelved away her academic certificates and tried adapting herself inside kitchen.
Khatun’s story is an example to show where the country stands in terms of women empowerment and gender equality. Despite unceasing talks about women rights and equality, there are many Khatuns in the country, who are just confined to kitchen despite being educated and skilled. They are still not free from the fetters of so-called family tradition.
The number of stay-at-home wives and mothers with college degrees in their hands has increased over the years, says Sabitra Aryal, chairperson of Sadhana Women School, Butwal.
“Until a few years back, all we heard of was women who couldn’t complete schooling after marriage. Now there are more educated women forced to stay at home against their will.”
Muna Shrestha was pursuing a B.Ed. degree when she got married. She says she had always wanted to become a teacher but could not. Reason is same that of Khatun: Her husband, who runs a petrol pump at Krishnanagar in Kapilvastu, did not want her to continue study. “There was no point going to college after all,” she says. “I stay busy in household chores these days.” Not only education, her husband also stood in her way of quest for self-dependent as her plan to open a tailor shop was also vetoed by her husband.
More and more educated women are compelled to remain within the confines of household work even thouth they are capable of doing much more in the outside world, says Aryal.
“When the educated women are forced to sacrifice their dreams, higher the chances of them not getting along well with their partners. Depression among such women is also high,” she adds.
Posted on: 2010-09-02 08:35
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