The excessive emphasis given to marriage in a woman’s life is precisely the cause for the imbalance. Culture propagates that marriage is the primary and perhaps only aspect of a woman’s life. Her status and standing in a society are dictated by the nature of her married life. In the eyes of the society, having a couple of children and a husband with a well-paying job paints a picture of a ‘good marriage’. It becomes utterly irrelevant if the woman is truly happy.
Marriage makes for a large part of a woman’s identity than it does for men. Women are more likely to flaunt their identities as ‘mother’ and ‘wife’ than men describing themselves as ‘father’ and ‘husband’. Marriage makes up a large part of a woman’s self-image and societal perception. Men, most often, foreground their careers when painting their self-image. A woman might have touched great heights in her career or would have done extensive service to the society, but if she remains unmarried beyond a certain age, she is judged. Moreover, she is pitied for not having lived a ‘full’ life.
When marriage becomes as important to one’s identity as it does for women, they bear the greater pressure to make their marriages work. Marriage in India most often occurs out of convenience than of love and understanding. In such a setting, the in-laws place greater demand on women to ‘adjust’ and ‘compromise’. After all, if the marriage doesn’t work, she is sure to face greater social embarrassment and difficulty than her husband and his family. To restore balance to the marriage equation where the husband and wife contribute equally towards making the relationship work, it is absolutely necessary to change the current perception of marriage.