While words like ‘tall’, ‘dark’, and ‘handsome’ are used to define eligible men in Indian society, women are at times subjected to the unfair expectation of being slim and fair.
A disheartening case recently came to light wherein a husband used to harass and torture his wife for her appearance. As reported by the Times Of India, the 23-year-old woman from the Ghatlodia area of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad filed a case against her husband and in-laws for beating and abandoning her because she wasn’t slim and fair.
The woman who got married to the accused, based in Mumbai, in 2008 alleged that her husband and in-laws started harassing her soon after their wedding. They kept taunting her that she was fat, dark, and ugly and her husband compared her to his girlfriend who was ‘pretty, slim, and fair’.
“My husband used to taunt me that I was dark, fat, and ugly. He used to tell me that his girlfriend was pretty, slim, and fair. Whenever I protested, he used to beat me and even his family members provoked him to beat me,” she said in her complaint.
The woman also reportedly claimed in her FIR that a month after her wedding her in-laws would seek dowry from her parents and when her parents weren’t able to fulfill their demands, they would beat her over petty issues.
She further alleged that her husband and his family considered her to be a bad omen as she didn’t have a brother. They even ridiculed her for being unable to give birth to a baby boy. “They used to pressure me to give birth to a boy and threatened me with dire consequences if I gave birth to a girl,” the woman said adding that she was also physically abused for not being able to cook good food.
This incident highlights the kind of mindset people have even in the 21st century. What do you think should be done to change the mindset of people? Share with us.