All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources of information, which are summarized in the middle of the article.
Preface
"If you don't have water, then marry more wives to help fetch water", in some parts of India, such things seem to be commonplace.
Indian men regard their wives as a cheap "faucet" and constantly squeeze their wives.
And the fate of these "water wives" is very tragic, they are not so much wives as the "tools" of Indian men.
Not only was the status very low, but he was not allowed to enter the room of the main wife, and he was not even "allowed" to have children.
Strangely enough, however, these Indian women were willing to take on such a role.
So, what kind of status are India's "water wives" in, why did they not resist, and what restrained them?
Extremely arid India
India can be said to be a very "magical" country.
The country is ranked fifth in the 2023 global GPD rankings and has grown to become the fifth largest economy in the world.
With the continuous depreciation of the yen, some professional institutions even predict that in 2025, India may even surpass Japan and become the world's fourth largest economy.
Information source: Overseas Network (2024-05-05) - Japanese media: The depreciation of the yen has exacerbated reports on Japan's economic decline
But in such a country with such a developed economy, the living conditions of the Indian people do not seem to be proportional to the economic development of the country.
At the same time, a very strict "hierarchy" is maintained in India.
In 2019, more than 600 million people in India were suffering from extreme water scarcity, and with water pollution in place, India's water resources can be said to be extremely scarce.
Source: Huanqiu.com (2019-05-17) -- India suffers the worst water shortage in history, and 21 cities are reported to be depleted by 2020
According to relevant data, an average of 200,000 people die every year in India because of "water".
It is reported that India's share of the world's population has reached 18%, but the proportion of the world's water resources is very low, only 4%.
Therefore, in order to survive, the people of India have appeared in areas and rural areas with extreme water shortages.
The "Water Wife" who accepts her fate
Almost 140 kilometres from Mumbai, one of India's most economically developed cities, the countryside is not only without a tap to sustain a family's water, but also has to be drawn from a well at the bottom of a nearby hill.
Even then there were queues for hours, so the place was always very crowded.
Men living in the village say that the only option for someone to fetch water for their family is to marry more wives.
Source: China Youth Daily (2019-05-29) – In India, water scarcity has spawned reports of a group of "water wives".
Although this is also illegal in India, they say that there is no water and no one to help them solve their drinking problems, so even if they know that it is illegal, they still choose to do so.
And this phenomenon exists in many parts of India, but its officials have turned a blind eye.
Men here usually marry three or four wives, and the second and third wives are mainly responsible for the family's water resources.
Naturally, the younger the younger the water, the more efficient it is, so after the second wife gradually ages, the Indian man will choose to marry another one.
Before dawn, they would walk the mountain with two aluminum canisters filled with 15 litres of water on their heads to the well where they finally had water.
Such a distance is at least 10 kilometers, and a round trip is more than 20 kilometers.
They have to fetch water three times a day to ensure that the family has water.
The temperature in the morning and evening is not high, but the noon trip to fetch water is extremely difficult.
Source: China News Network (2015-06-05) - Report by the Indian Hydro Wife
Under the scorching sun, the aluminum jar is very hot, and even in the hot weather of more than 40 degrees, you can still see many women fetching water.
For a long time, their bodies have been very damaged, and long-term baldness seems to be a very normal thing.
People like them can also be said to be wives of water.
While enduring hard work, their status is not guaranteed.
It is still very traditional in this place that the first wife must be unmarried and be responsible for bearing children and taking care of the children in the family.
The "water wives" are generally widows, or the family is very poor, and they are also women in a situation of water shortage, who understand the hardships of survival, so they will choose other people to be water wives.
The most important task of these water wives is to fetch water, and they must also obey the orders of the first wife, as long as the main wife is still in the bedroom, they cannot enter, and naturally they are not qualified to inherit the husband's inheritance.
Some people have even lost their right to motherhood during their year-round water fetching activities.
However, these Indian women who are willing to be "water wives" are basically voluntary, and at the same time, in the extremely conservative rural India, fetching water for the family will also be "respected", so they are also "willing".
But it is not so much that they are voluntary, but that they are "forced" by society.
After all, in India, there are still very traditional "customs", and in some areas widows ask for burial.
Appalling widow burial
It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century, in this highly modern era, some parts of India still retain the institution of burial.
In Indian tradition, after the death of her husband, the wife also walks into the matchpile at the time of his cremation.
If the burial is carried out by other means, the wife will also self-immolate.
Such an act is called sati in India, which translates to "chaste wife".
This behavior is voluntary at first, but later on, it is coercive.
Although it was abolished in 1829 due to extreme cruelty, it is still preserved in some parts of India.
Information source: Beiqing Network (2017-02-08) - I dare not imagine! Appalling reports of ancient Indian sati practices
In 2006, a 35-year-old Indian widow was beaten and persecuted by her relatives after her husband's death, and was forced to jump into her husband's cremation to be buried.
Such an incident also caused quite a stir.
In the village of Tangamal in the Indian state of Maharashtra, there is still a tradition of "widow burial".
It is very difficult for such women to gain status and respect in India, and even today they are ostracized in some places and are not even allowed to participate in religious ceremonies and family gatherings.
Text | On Yun Xuan
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