The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-10-20
Girl Life in India.

On the day of her wedding she is put
into palanquin, shut up tight and carried
to her husband house, says LesIie's Sunday
Magazine Hitherto she has been thespoiled
pet of her mother now she is to be the
little slave of her mother-in-law, on whom
she is to wait, whose command she is i'm
plicitly to obey, and who teaches her what
she is to do to please her husband; what
dishes he likes best and how to cook them.
IF this mother-in-law is kind she will let
the girl go home occasionally to visit her
mother.
OF her husband she sees little or nothing.
She is of no more account to him than a
little cat or dog would be. There is seldom
or never any love between them, and no
matter how cruelty she may be treated she
can never complain to her husband of
anything his mother may do, for he
would never take his wife's part Her
husband sends to her daily the portion
of food that is to be cooked for her, himself
and children. When it is prepared she
places it on brass platter and sends it to
her husbands room. He eats what he
wishes, and then the platter is sent back
with what is left for her and her children.
They sit together on the ground and eat
the remainder, having neither knives, fork
nor spoons. While she is young she is
never allowed to go anywhere.
The little girls are married as young as
3 years of age, and should the boy to whom
she is married die the next day she is called
widow, and is from henceforth doomed to
perpetual widowhood- can never marry
again. As widow she must never wear
any jewellery, never dress her hair, never
sleep on bed-nothing but piece of mat
ting spread on the hard brick floor, and
sometimes, in fact, not even that between
her and the cold bricks; and, no matter
how cold the night may be, she must have
no other covering than the thin garment
she has worn in the day. She must eat
but one meal of food day, and that of the
coarsest kind and once in two weeks she
must fast twenty-four hours. Then not
a bit of food, not drop of water or medicine
must pass her Gps-not even if she were
dying. She must never sit down nor speak
in the presence of her mother-in-law, un-
less she commands her to do so.
Her food must be cooked and eaten
apart from other womens. Sheis disgraced,
a degraded woman. She may never even
look on at any of the marriage ceremonies
or festivals. 1t would be an evil omen for
her to do so. She may have been high
caste Brahminic woman. but on her becom-
ing widow any, even the lowest servant
may order her to do what they do not like
to do. No woman in the house must ever
speak one word of love or pity to her, for
it is supposed that if woman shows the
slightest commiseration to widow she will
Immediately become one herself.
1t is estimated that there are SO, 900 wild
ows in India under 16 years Of age. The
prevalence of suicide among young females
is so great that it was brought to the atten-
ton of the Courts. This can be traced to
the oppressive control exercised by the moth
er-in-law in household matters over the
daughter-in-law, independently of and un-
checked by the interference of the husband
The son is expected to take the part of the
mother against the wife.