Your daughter are getting older - a study about marriage traditions in Tamil Nadu

Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study has been to generate understanding about young Indian women’s lives in general and school experiences in particular, with focus on how it has been affected by current marriage traditions. The marriage traditions have been analyzed from a gender perspective, connected to both conceptions of sexuality and impacts of economical factors. The study has been conducted during a ten weeks Minor Field Study in the region of Tamil Nadu, India, where interviews with seven young woman who had dropped out of school were performed. Analysed with Yvonne Hirdman’s theory about the gender system, and previous research on the topic, two aspects of the marriage traditions were crystallized from the empirical data; the sexuality aspect and the economical aspect. The result shows that the marriage traditions have had important effects on the respondents’ lives and school experiences. They have not been allowed to interfere with boys, neither in school nor at home, since there is a fear of getting a bad reputation or that will a love affair evolve otherwise. These restrictions have been stronger after menarche. The importance of being able to pay a dowry has also been an important factor within the respondents’ lives.