The practice of child marriage began 4,000 years ago in India. Many things changed over time such as caste discrimination, the emancipation of women, the economic and social growth of our country, etc., etc. But there are things that not even 4000 years of time have been able to eradicate. Unfortunately, child marriage is one of the social vices that currently exist in our country.
Recently, a program called ‘Balika Vadhu’ was aired on the Colors channel, which deals with the aforementioned topic. During its promotional campaign and trailers I thought it would be another series that would tell us what we already know. That child marriage is immoral, inappropriate and, most importantly, can be devastating to the lives of children. Nothing that we are not aware of!
But what I didn’t expect was to learn about the myriad issues and complexities that come with this practice. Set in a small town in Rajasthan, the story revolves around the life of a child bride, Anandi, before and after she gets married. She is married to a wealthy family where the tradition of bringing young brides from extremely poor families is followed.
Balika Vadhu did not aim to eradicate the practice itself by condemning and criticizing it, rather the intention was for people to see its consequences. In Rajasthan, where child marriage still occurs, the audience can see the results in a very justified and clear way. Whether it’s how a girl is expected to become worldly and mature at a preteen age, how she copes with the pressures of living in a different house with people she doesn’t even know.
Their huge expectations of running the whole household – cooking, cleaning, caring for everyone in the family and behaving accordingly – are supposed to be fulfilled. We see how women continue to be treated as objects who have to abandon their lives, family and friends (having nothing to say) to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to them. That being of a passive, tolerant and a perfect housewife. Anandi, despite being excellent in studies and having a great interest in them, cannot go to school. Since, after marriage, she has the sole responsibility of taking care of her home. While Jagadish, her husband, is the apple of everyone’s eye, she can play, go to school, do whatever she wants since he is a man.
Through the character of Phooli, a widowed girl and Anandi’s best friend, we can see the life of a widow. At the age of 8 or 10, she cannot dress in colorful clothes, make up, wear bracelets, hair clips and headbands which she absolutely adores. She has to follow a particular dress code of plain and boring clothes. She is required to follow a strict code of conduct set by the society. She abstains from all worldly pleasures, she cannot remarry or go to school, and she has to live with her parents until such time as her death rescues her. When she doesn’t know what married life is all about, she is forced to lead the life of a widow.
The consequence of consuming a girl at a young age resulting in her death has been shown through the story of Basant’s (Anandi’s uncle) ex-wife. The dominance of men and the rich has been clearly reflected in Basant’s new marriage (despite the fact that he is a widower and in his 50s) with a girl the age of his daughter and his virgin by demand of the. Being a man, powerful and rich, he can ‘choose’.
Balika Vadhu does not put everything related to child marriage simply in black and white. If on the one hand there are elements of a rigid and unchanging society (in the form of Anandi’s daadi-sa (mother-in-law) and uncle Basant), there are also characters like Anandi’s father-in-law and mother-in-law, who understand the problems created by child marriage. . They want things to change but they are not brave enough to go against society. The very interesting and strong woman who dares to go against the rules and do what is best for her is played by Gahna, Basant’s wife. After learning of her husband’s ex-wife’s early consummation incident, she adamantly refuses to sleep with him even after he and her mother-in-law threaten to pull her off the hose and kill her. The life of poor families who have daughters has been referred to as a crime in society.
The parents of these girls want their daughters to marry into a wealthy family so that they can lead a comfortable life. They succumb to any type of pressure or demand that the rich present to them. However, wealthy families do not refrain from repeatedly telling them of the noble deed they have done in marrying off their children to the poor and needy. They have endowed the girls with all the luxuries in the world, hence their ‘kindness and gratitude’ must never be forgiven. Isn’t it a pity that instead of making life good for their own daughters they sell them without considering the sequels in the social, psychological and physical state of the girl?
Last but certainly not least, the characters of Anandi, Jagadish, Phooli bring to life the changes and responsibilities that children receive with their marriage. The way they have shown to adapt and adjust to society is touching. These tender, innocent souls without any knowledge of how things work in an oppressive, unchanging, patriarchal society are made to grow up at an incredibly young age.
Balika Vadhu makes you think and gives you plenty of reasons to bring about much needed change in Indian society.