GENDER ROLES IN INDIA AND COLOMBIA

Currently, we try to live more as people who make decisions about how to lead life, leaving behind roles that are assigned socially by being a man or a woman. However, this designation of roles is deeply rooted in the culture, so in some countries traditions or customs related to gender roles are still maintained.

In the case of India, women are perceived as an economic asset and are subject to the decisions of their parents to agree on the age of marriage and to choose a husband. To this is added that a woman in India is valued and respected only if she is next to him. Although some practices such as sati (which consisted of a public act in which widows were thrown into a bonfire) have been abolished, the role of women in society is still devalued in many aspects of life, including education, in which Priority is given to males, since the girl will be maintained by a man and her education is unnecessary. Also, it is estimated that 95% of Indian women work in the informal sector, and their work is insecure and is not regularly recognized.

Although it could be said that in Colombia these behaviors do not exist, because women have the same opportunities as men to study and work, differential treatment predominates in both genders, since womens earn lower salaries and there is also the idea that women should be in charge of household chores.

To sum up, machismo is very common in both cultures, in which the woman socially remains in the domestic and maternal area.