Marriage is an institution which allows or admits women and men to family life, defines marriage, “as a socially sanctioned union of male and female or as a secondary institution devised by society to sanction the union of mating male and female, for purpose of establishing a household, entering into sex relation, procreating, and providing care for the off-spring”. Since immemorial time marriage has been the greatest and most important of all institutions in human society. It has always existed in one form or another in every culture. For Hindus, marriage is often considered as sacrosanct union. Marriages in Hindu are between two families, rather two individuals which can be referred as arranged marriage. In a society where a patriarchal is predominant there is stringent gender role, husband holding an active dominating role and women with passive role. Women in patriarchal family especially in Hindu society are more vulnerable to mental illness, anxiety disorder such as depression and suicide.
The elders of the family do the selection of the spouse in Hindu culture because Indian Hindu culture believes that marriage is union between two families rather than a relationship. Marriage is a social necessity, marrying children is the primary responsibility of parents in India. To ensure that marriage occurred between same caste and religion families select the spouses from the people whom they knew. The caste system is comprised of Varnas (classes) and Jatis (subclasses). Varnas are categorized into four groups: Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The first three castes are to be served by the lowest caste, the Shudras. The Brahmans occupy the highest position in the society. The caste system in India has traditionally dominated societal structure. Most marriages occurred within the same caste level. If a person marries to someone without family’s approval, it is considered as deviant. The sacramental aspect of marriage under Hindu law has three characteristics: That marriage is not to gratify one’s physical needs; but is primarily meant for the performance of religious and spiritual duties; A marriage once entered cannot be dissolved on any ground whatsoever; and It is a union of soul, body and mind. It is a union not only for this life, but for all lives to сome. The Hindu culture compelled women to marry as soon as she becomes young in early twenties and a son marries as soon as he starts earning. Indian community has a strong expectation of women to marry because they believe that a woman is born to be a bride and their role in the society is to get marry. There is a cultural belief that parental success depends on a daughter‘s marriage, and subsequent shame that the family faces when this does not happen.
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Historically, India is largely a patriarchal society. In patriarchal system women is considered inferior and husband with high masculinity. In India, marriage and family dominate the life of women, because of that majority of women were financially and socially dependent on man. In this marriage man holds the power of decision making, for women their primary duty is to be subservient, loyal to husband and his relatives and children. A female child in Hindu society is not value much compare to male child. The preference for males over females started with the birth of a child. Daughters were viewed as family burden because raising them, and getting them married, provided no social or financial benefit to their family. They were considered the property of their father until she gets married to a husband and if husband die before wife, the woman became the property of her sons. Women should also sacrifice herself on her husband‘s funeral pyre. Such a woman was considered to be a good wife. Widows who did not engage or sacrifice themselves were not allowed to remarry because it was believed that a woman would meet her deceased husband in her next life. The cultural obligation to their deceased husband and families discourage widows to remarry. For women in such society marriage plays a vital role in maintaining security, dignity and positive status.
The sociologist Susan Wadley examined women’s position in folklores, myths and legends rooted in history and found out that women are constantly made to adopt contradictory roles. This has often led to enormous stress placing the women’s mental health under constant threat. For men marriage is kind of a blessing but for women in Hindu society it appears to be associated with depression. In Hindu society there is a rigid code of conduct for women, which restrict or prevent communication, expression of emotions, and even their fundamental rights as human because of that there is higher prevalence of internalizing disorder such depression and anxiety in women compared to men. One of the major causes of mental illness in women is the social and family pressure on women to stay in relation even in abusive relationships. Another problem regarding Hindu marriage is commercial aspect of the marriage which is defined as Dowry system. The parents of the girl commit suicide just because they cannot manage the dowry demanded by the parents of the boy. Sometimes the girl herself commits suicides. The parents at some point have to compel their daughter to marry who is almost fit to her father. Even after marriage if the dowry expectations are not met, young brides can be harassed to the point where they are driven to suicide. In a study of women treated in hospital emergency rooms after a suicide attempt, over 40% were young rural women 1534 years of age; an unhappy marriage (over 60%), financial problems (over 40%), and having been beaten by a spouse (almost 40%) were the most frequently cited stressful events they had experienced.
Marriage has been an important social institution. It is the basis for the family. Throughout the past century and across various cultures, the concept of marriage were mostly prevalent. The concept of marriage differs from different region, culture and religion. For Hindu, marriage is sacrament and not a civil contract. Marriage has historically been an important part and distinct phase of Hindu culture. In Hindu society marriage is compulsory, it is a sacrament, indestructible and secret union but for women it is an abhorred. For women unmarried status is stigmatized that is why women get extraordinary pressure from their families and community. Furthermore, it was expected that spouses would be chosen along caste and religion line and women must serve them throughout her life with all respect. For women living in such society with distinct idea about marriage is all about leading a stressful life. The marriage remained a hope in many of women‘s lives. However, they face an extreme amount of pressure to get married because of the belief that women were ― born to be brides. The women‘s lives were still heavily influenced by the collectivist culture in which they were raised.
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