“Gupta ji, aapki beti 25 saal ki Ho gyi hai, shaadi kab karenge?” ( Gupta ji, your daughter is  25, when are you going to get her married off?”)  who has said that ideal age for a girl to marry is  mid twenties? Let me put it the other way, who has given the society and its people the right to decide the ideal age for a women to marry? Which era are we still living in, where such intrusive thoughts still have an audacity to prove their unwarranted, orthodox and groundless points in regard to girl’s matrimony. Nevertheless, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act states that a girl in India can’t marry before the age of 18, and a boy before 21. But wait, does that mean 18 is “THE“marriageable age and girls should be sent to their in-laws house much before they reach their late twenties. When our country can fetch a label for itself as “the fastest growing and developing country,” why can’t  our Indian society aim for the same? Why are we still not changing  our typical mindset, when it comes to a marriage of a girl. Are we not productive enough? Are we not capable enough ?  Are we not worth enough to be given a chance to realise our dreams and do wonders in life. There’s nothing that is unattainable for girls.

The moment a girl completes her graduation, she’s welcomed to the marriage club. Marriage becomes the centre of discussion everywhere. Be it uncle, aunt or parents, they all have only one topic to discuss and that is “Marriage.”  No doubt that marriage is a prominent milestone in one’s life but in most of the Indian families, it is parental pressure which results in marriage. The whole idea of sacredness of a marriage gets deteriorated once the means of forced marriage occurs,  where the consent of a girl has not been taken into consideration. The girl is left with no other option than to bear that fake smile throughout the wedding ceremony.

Though this trend is changing in cities and metros but villages are still untouched in India. We need more and more support for this good cause. We have not failed to acknowledge our girls whenever they have made us and our country proud but we should not step back and choose to keep quite when voice needs to be raised against such questionable norms.

In Indian society, family and parents play an imperative role in taking the decision regarding right age for marriage . Above that, if a female crosses 30 years of age then she is tagged as someone who is not of a good character or loose. Why are we stooping low to such narrow mindset? Females have all the right to decide when to enter the institution of marriage. They shouldn’t be forced for marriage every now and then.

I as a women feel so proud to have parents,  who are so supportive and have given me all sorts of  liberty to do what I want to do in life. They don’t want me to get married until I do them proud. That’s how it is supposed to be. I’m blessed! I can’t thank them enough for what they are doing for me. I want to bring in the change. The change which will be applauded by millions across the globe.

My humble request to all the parents-

lets break the monotony. Let’s make a difference to the society and let’s love our daughters in literal sense. Wedding bells can take a backseat until we girls are busy turning our ideas into reality.

To conclude, I would say that just going to cinemas and watching and applauding movies like Dangal would not prove the point. Unless, we instil the same belief in ourselves and eventually make this nation proud of more Geetas, Babitaas and other self-made women who choose to defer the marriage and come out as winners.

 Embrace the change and transition gracefully so that you get to enjoy the newness of life!