Weddings And Gold Jewellery: Why Are These The Only Assets Parents Plan For Daughters?

While wedding rituals vary across regions in India, there are some traditions that are observed almost uniformly. Donning blingy ethnic clothes, along with heavy gold jewellery is a staple at desi weddings. Especially for the bride, from bangles to mangalsutras, there is no shortage of jewellery as it is a common wedding present from parents to their daughters. Indian parents actually start planning for their daughter's wedding years ahead of her big day. In fact, for most Indian parents, gold jewellery and a grand wedding are the only assets that they plan for their daughters.

So while boys get college funds, safety net money to be used later in life in case of emergency, a chunky inheritance that they must pass on to their heirs- all planned ahead, for daughters, parents solely focus on creating a fund that will allow them to give their child a lavish wedding. One does wonder though, are these assets accumulated for the sake of the daughters, or so that the family can consolidate its reputation in the society?

According to the World Gold Council, India is the second-largest consumer of gold in the world and around 800 to 1,000 tons of gold is bought each year. The demand is largely in the form of jewellery, out of which 50 to 60 percent of the gold jewellery is bridal.

Streedhan And Gold Jewellery

Streedhan is a term that describes a woman's property and often refers to the wealth or gifts given by family members or relatives on the occasion of her wedding. The Supreme Court ruled that a woman can claim streedhan after separating from her husband and denying a woman her streedhan would amount to domestic violence.

Why is streedhan considered so important that denying it to a woman amounts to domestic abuse? In patriarchal households, daughters do not receive property, land, or homes from their families even today. Those properties and the rights to them are typically reserved for men. Thus the only way families can share their wealth is by giving them gold jewellery. Times have changed and women have more rights when it comes to inheritance and property, but the tradition of gifting daughters gold remains.

Indian families often buy gold as soon as a daughter is born and save it till their wedding day.

Suggested Reading: When We Talk About Marriage To Women, We Should Also Normalise Divorce

Do Women Still Need Gold Jewellery As An Insurance Policy?

While the act of gifting gold to the bride may have the right intentions behind it, the practice is about a darker time when women rarely got the opportunity to pursue their interests. There’s still a lot left to be done for women’s rights, but with access to education and job opportunities, women have more agency today than they had three or four decades ago.

While gold serves as a valuable insurance policy for women that is solely theirs, there are better ways to ensure that the bride has a safety net in her matrimonial house.

Rather than spending a huge chunk of money on gold jewellery, there are other assets that can be given to a bride instead. How about investing in a daughter's higher education so that she can get a job and be financially independent? Or buying her a pension plan or health insurance? Also just like parents handover their inheritance to their sons, can't they do the same to their daughters? Why must gender decide who gets what asset from their parents?

Why Wait Till The Wedding Day?

The act of gifting brides gold was seen as the last favour from parents to their daughters since apparently once a woman gets married she is no longer their daughter, but a wife and a daughter-in-law. After weddings, parents can wipe their hands clean and conclude that their job as parents is done. But a woman isn't only their daughter until she gets married, and marriages shouldn't be seen as women becoming the responsibility of their husbands. Continued support and assistance through adversity are better than a one-time gift of gold jewellery.

The assets saved for a daughter can also be used before their weddings if required. If a family is saving up to provide a safety net for a daughter, shouldn't she have a say in when it's used?

While there is nothing wrong with upholding traditions when they're not entrenched in misogyny and discrimination, traditions can also be adapted to change with time. If gifting daughters gold as an asset is a tradition a family wants to partake in, then they should be allowed to. But, people should also keep in mind that there are significantly more options for women in this day and age.

Views expressed are the author's own.