General Forums >> Marriage and Relationships >> Indians and Divorce
Indians and Divorce
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Posted 10 months ago Many of my Indian friends, across ages have been getting divorced recently. In most cases, it has been the best thing they could do, getting out of a bad and even abusive relationship. Yet, instead of support and kudos from their family and extended relatives, they have to deal with stigma and disapproval. When is India's attitude towards divorce going to change? |
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| Posted 10 months ago I think divorce in general is viewed negatively. I do think because of the traditional/religious values it makes worse. There isn't yet a strong enough support group or recognition that sometimes relationships can't work. |
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| Posted 10 months ago divorce represents the triumph of the individual over the group, which goes against the tenets of a collectivist culture. Plus there is a resentment in more traditional Indians around the influence of "the West" on our traditional Indian values. In India, a marriage is more than the union of two people, it is a union of two families. |
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| Posted 10 months ago I buy into that, but not completely. First of all, I don't think the "family" argument is truly valid until the husband's family completely embraces the wife, instead of treating her like a caretaker or a _pariah._In such cases, the individuals concerned best worry about their own relationship first. Secondly, there is nothing worse for a family than parents or children that are in a bad marriage. I am all for giving it your best shot, but sometimes, it's just best to cut your losses. Sticking it out could have more adverse consequences than leaving. |
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| Posted 10 months ago true but the stigma associated with divorce is sometimes warranted, and as awinhold said, global. when you know someone is divorced, you want to know why. indians in the larger cities are not any more bias against divorce than people around the world. |
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| Posted 10 months ago but the world shouldn't be our standard - why can't we progress beyond? i agree with kaamna that indians still tend to be pretty hypocritical about divorce and would rather save face by staying in a bad relationship than deal with having to tell their relatives that they are a divorcee. |
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| Posted 10 months ago although it's obvious i am not indian, i have been divorced. and from my experience, it seems to be more difficult financially and socially on a woman than a man in any country. and even though it has been a financial burden on me ever since, i would rather live with the stigma that the word "divorced" brings, than to live with the man i divorced. now i usually just say im single. :) |
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| Posted 10 months ago here's to that, nmaclaran - i think many women think the way you do, but don't have the strength to pull it off! think the problem is exacerbated in indian society because of its collectivist roots and also because the indian judicial system does not give a woman equal rights in a joint family scenario. therefore, women get screwed both financially as well as socially.. |
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| Posted 10 months ago but breaking up a family is hard to do. |