Comment on “Carrers Give India’s Women New Independence”

In the following I will comment on the article “Carrers Give India’s Women New Independence”, written by Somini Sengupta and published in “The New York Times” on November 23, 2007.

Indian’s new economy does not completely abandon its deep tradition concerning the role of women, thats what the article of Somini Sengupta is about.

Indian passed a tremendous economical change since the independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. The new possibilities concerning personal career went hand in hand with the challenge of traditionally based restrictions to woman. Women want to manage their own life, to achieve independence from their family communities, a phenomenon which can be connected to the history of all modern and free societies in the world where economical advancement enhanced the situation of its citizens. But the change in India is another one then elsewhere.

Women in india, the author gives examples of two young women, Shubha Khaddar and her roommate Pallavi Maddala which have a new economic job, are torn between being independent and a life of domesticity. The reasons for that are interesting: Women are still often out on a limb if they remain single, do not accord to the traditional way of being married and try to manage her individual life free of dependence. Nonetheless, Indian woman today have jobs and possibilities which were only open to the male society in the past. But the real odd thing about it, is that, the author refers to public opinion polls, most of the women are affirmative to the tradition in contradiction to the restrictions they have to accept.

The Indian society has to change further up to regard their culture critically, including the role of women. That was and will be a slow process, one has to take into consideration that the Indian culture mainly absorbs influences of all kinds over the centuries.

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Article “Carrers Give India’s Women New Independence” – The New York Times