In India, only 5% of women choose their husbands

5% of women in India choose their husbands. In forced marriages, two-thirds of them see their spouse for the first time on the wedding day.

When the conditions of women do not improve. According to an Indian Human Development Survey (IDHS) poll released on February 13, only 5% of Indian women choose their husbands, and 45% are illiterate.

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The study was conducted among 42,000 households in 34 different states, urban and rural. More than 35,000 women aged between 15 and 81 were interviewed between 2004 and 2012. In three quarters of cases (73%), the union was the result of a choice of parents. Moreover, 65% of them met their husband on the wedding day.

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The conditions of women in India

• - 5% of women choose their husbands
• - 65% of married women see their husbands for the first time on the wedding day
• - 45% of Indian women are illiterate
• - 80% of married women need permission to go to the doctor
• - 27% of Indian women are in the workforce

Control of women's lives in India even extends to doctor's visits or to the grocery store. More than 80% of them say they need permission from a family member to get there. And such restrictions are also reflected in other indicators. For example, only 27% of Indian women are in the labor force, the second lowest rate of female labor force participation in South Asia, after Pakistan.

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Can any factors be identified? According to Kavita Krishnan, member of the Association for the Advancement of Women in Asia , “the cultural climate plays a big role. Around Delhi, the patriarchal culture is more rigid and hostile to the sexual autonomy of women, ”she said . 

“This study shows above all that the lack of autonomy is one of the biggest plagues of women in the country. This problem cannot come only from illiteracy, the governments are obliged to propose solutions. ” It remains to be seen whether the Indian government, composed mainly of men, wants any liberalization of women.

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