In a patriarchal society, there are traditions that are not just disturbing but also degrading to women, and one such tradition is that of dowry. While every day we are moving forward as a society, there are a few instances that prove that some people are still stuck in the dark ages with no intention to change.
We recently came across a question in an exam that asked students to calculate the dowry of a girl and the probability of a man marrying a woman with a ‘white complexion’. NGL, it took us a while to get over the fact that this wasn’t a satirical piece but a legit question.
A Reddit user @ScurrTheMurr posted a photograph of a mathematical problem with the caption, “Indian education folks.” The question reads, “A man wants to marry a girl having qualities: White complexion – the probability of getting such a girl is 1/20; handsome dowry – the probability of getting this is 1/50..; manners and style – the probability here is 1/100. Find out the probability of his getting to such a girl when the possession of these three attributes is independent.”
A lot to unpack here! Perhaps the creator of the question was wondering how he can offend and degrade women in as many ways as possible. Or they were trying to show how regressive, sexist and racist our society still is even though we would all like to believe otherwise.
Not The First Time…
Just a few days ago a passage from a college textbook went viral that discussed the ‘societal advantages’ of dowry. Believe it or not, the writer of the book claimed that ‘ugly girls’ can get married off due to the practice of dowry and it promotes the education of girls.
It is pretty evident that the Indian education system is still trapped in the shackles of patriarchy and this needs to be changed that STAT. Dowry is a social evil that costs thousands of lives every year. Moreover, a woman’s worth is not defined by her appearance and the fact that some people continue to objectify them under the ruse of traditions is incorrigible.
While every day Indian women are making waves with their hard work, we can’t forget that we all still have a long way to go. So, let’s take it one day at a time and smash the patriarchy!
Feature Image Credit: Pexels
