Pre-marital Sex and Permissiveness in Indian Society on the Rise
by kalyani10
India is home to one of the earliest sites of human civilization – the Indus Valley civilization which is believed to date back to 3000 BC. Over several successive millennia, this land underwent a series of cultural, historical, political and intellectual changes until in 1947 India emerged as a newly independent, unified political entity. Political independence ushered in a wave of state-led reform which tried to reach out to every aspect - legal, social, economic and political - of its populace. However sexual relations around mid-twentieth century were still largely governed by traditional mores and religious norms which forbade sexual freedom to the young and especially to women.
Meet millionaire men at MillionaireMatch.com.
Despite complaints that even after more than a half-century of India’s political independence, precious little has changed on the ground for its oppressed, the truth is that the legal reforms played some part in bringing about changes in traditional sexual practices. Indian women not only acquired the right to vote and work after political independence but could no longer be married away below the age of eighteen according the Child Restraint Marriage Act of 1929. Most importantly the Special Marriage Act of 1954 allowed adult couples to marry into other castes, communities and religions, thus marking the supremacy of personal choice over traditional customs. And even though these laws were more often followed on paper than in actual practice, their significance lay in the fact that they decriminalized the act of choosing one’s own partner often overriding communal and traditional dictates. Finally the educational and economic independence for women and young people that the reforms ushered in did more to set the stage for change in sexual practices than any explicit laws.
One of the most significant aspects of this change is evident in the growing prevalence of premarital sex. Official statistics on this issue is hard to come by because of the intensely personal nature of the practice as well as the traditional taboo associated with having sex before marriage. According to an article 1 written by an official working as the Program Officer, Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health, United Nations Population Fund, New Delhi and published with the National Institute of Health website, “there is increasing evidence that youth in India engage in premarital romantic and sexual partnerships”, despite restrictive social norms. The writers found that 14% of females and 33% of males in the economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Delhi believed it was “okay to engage in premarital sex if the male and female love one another”. Again, the title of a research article published in the British Medical Journal in 10 March 2001 reads “More than a quarter of India’s youngsters have premarital sex” 2. A far more liberal picture is painted by a 2005 survey carried out by a non-governmental counseling clinic in Mumbai Avishkar according to which premarital sex among 18 to 20 year-olds in metros is as high as 65.6 per cent amongst girls and 63.3 amongst boys 3. Most recently an article published on the website of a reputed current affairs magazine revealed that at least one out of five teens in major Indian cities claims to have had sex and a whopping ninety percent believe premarital sex is alright 4.
There are social scientists and social historians who argue that pre-marital sex has always been there in India. This perspective points out that the land of Kamasutra and Khajuraho is no stranger to men and women engaging in sexual relations before and outside marriage and that now there is only a greater awareness about the right of consenting adults to engage in sexual relationships, even without the sanctity of marriage. Moreover the presence of a free media helps in exposing cases of sexual violence like the recent “honour killings” in northern India where there were several instances of young lovers being killed by family members for having eloped together. Investigation by news channels shows in many cases that love affairs and by implication pre-marital sex is very much present in semi-urban areas where the notions of free love and personal choice are still viewed as ‘western’. As far as premarital sex percolating down to the late teens is concerned, once again it can be argued that far from it being a consequence of immoral western culture, sex has always been practiced by young adults in India. Earlier it was it was hidden behind the dubious sanctity of early marriages but now with the legal age for marriage being enforced by the state, sexual relations between young couples appear to be pre-marital sex.
So what are the main factors which have led to either higher incidence of premarital sex in recent times or at least greater openness on the matter? The first is greater access to higher educational and professional opportunities as well as the consequent economic emancipation experienced by the young population, especially women. More than ever young unmarried people are now leaving their parental home to study or work at other places. These are most often bigger cosmopolitan cities which apart from providing educational and employment opportunities also offer an anonymity and physical distance from centers of traditional authority, thus making it easier for them to choose their own partners and engage in premarital sex. The supremacy of personal choice which had been already granted to these young people by law is now taken a step further and put to actual practice, aided by the ease and convenience of the anonymity afforded in big cities.
However this is not to say that pre-marital sex is absent from smaller towns and villages but that the causes are usually different. Semi-urban and even rural areas in India which have long been the bastions of traditional kinship structure are today witnessing the disintegration of joint family. As family structures become more nuclear and younger people are less supervised by the elders, it becomes easier for them to engage in intimate relations. Moreover the arrival of satellite television in the early 1990s brought in an unprecedented level of exposure to more emancipated, “western” ways of living and loving so that now even the smallest town and the remotest village is no longer stranger to reality shows and drama series which deal with premarital sex.
One of the most visible consequences of the higher incidence or the greater awareness of pre-marital sex in India has been a backlash against the so-called permissive, “western” cultural influence. Not only couples found to engage in pre-marital sex in small towns, but even Valentine’s Day celebrations in big cities and Bollywood films like Turning 30 have come under fire from individuals and groups for openly promoting or covertly supporting romantic and sexual love which may have nothing to do with marriage. However overall Indian society for all its diversity in educational, religious and economic affiliations seems to be warming up to the notion that premarital sex is a personal issue and as long as no law is being broken, consenting adults have the right to do what they want. The apex court in India, the Supreme Court had the final say on the issue in 2008 when quashing a criminal case against a famous actress from South India, observed that a man and woman living together without marriage cannot be construed as an offense 5.
The growing incidence or openness of pre-marital sex in India in itself is not an unhappy trend. What is more important is to see that underage or forced sex as in case of date rape or rape by close relatives is prevented and when it happens the guilty is convicted. Moreover with wider access to sex education, information and counseling on safe sex, young people will be aware of the risks associated with pre-marital sex while older couples will be empowered to make the right choices.
Reference:
- Log in to post comments
