This month we are in India!!!! India is the second largest country in the world (based on population) yet only 2.3% are christian. (According to the Indian census in 2001). This blows my mind. In fact a lot of things about India blow my mind, including women’s rights.
I have never thought of myself as a person that would want to fight for women’s rights, until I got here. (Not that I am against women’s rights, more that I feel called to other things!) This country is different than anything I have ever experienced. Many countries we have gone to have had different cultural norms that we learned and all of them were fairly easy to accommodate into our day to day life, but I feel like here, it is a struggle.
When we first arrived in India, we had a full day of orientation which is fairly normal when getting to a new country. I didn’t realize how different this one would be. We talked about clothing and how women have to be completely covered.
We wear Punjabi’s which consist of baggie pants and a long, tunic like shirt with a scarf. The scarf isn’t required but it is necessary to cover your head if you are preaching, teaching, or praying in front of a group.
The next rule was about gender roles. Here, making eye contact and smiling at someone of the opposite sex is considered flirting. We also are encouraged not to have one on one conversations with someone of the opposite sex. If traveling around town, you need to be in groups of three if there are mixed genders present too.
I could go on but I think you get the point. This was hard for me and still is at times because it is so different than anything I’m used to. But that isn’t even the craziest part.
The other day, my team and I went to the park to prayer walk and potentially find some people to talk to. Upon arriving at the park, the first thing I noticed was that all the kids there were boys. The park was pretty big so I looked closer and it was exactly what it seemed.
After about a half hour of hanging out and praying, some of the boys came aver and started talking to me and my teammate, Bre. They asked where we were from and a few other things and as the conversation progressed, I asked them why there were no girls here.
They had a few answers. One said the just went home after school to cook. Another said it was not safe for them to be at that park. But all of them sounds so non concerned with the issue. Girls don’t play after school, they go home to learn how to be wives and mothers.
This blew my mind. I can’t imagine someone telling 10 year old Brittany that she has to go home to cook and clean instead of playing with her friends after school. I also can’t imagine someone telling that same 10 year old that she was going to grow up to be a wife and mother. (Although I want to be both of those things, I also want the option to have whatever career I want and have the freedom to choose my life.)
I know this is their culture and they don’t know any different. They all seem happy with it too so who am I to step on toes and think it is wrong. And that is the thing, it is not wrong. It was just a surprise for type A, extrovert, always the star of the show, Brittany to experience.
In moments like this, I thank God for giving me the life he gave me. I thank Him for my parents, my siblings, and my community. I also thank God for giving me the personality I have been given and although it has gotten me in trouble many times, I am learning to appreciate who I am and who the Lord has created me to be.
This is one example of a lesson I have learned while being on the mission field. This experience in a once in a lifetime journey that can not be compared to anything else and I want to finish it. I am currently only a few weeks away from my deadline to be fully funded and I still need a little over $4,000 to get there. Please please please help me stay on the field and finish the race strong by contributing to my account. I could be sent home and miss the opportunity to learn more life lessons like this one that you can’t read from a book or watch in a movie. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
