Love Commandos

     I recently read an article for a religion class that I am taking this semester that dealt with problematic parts of Hindu marriage rituals. Well, it just so happens that my group's topic for our project is marriage rituals in Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam so I thought it would be appropriate to write about it for a blog. Traditionally Hindu marriages are arranged by parents and involve a dowry given from the bride's family to the groom's family. The main reason for these arranged marriages is the Hindu caste system and for that reason many Hindu will not marry lower than their caste. Marriages for love are very discouraged and often times forbidden if the two are from different castes.
     Before a couple can be married their engagement must be approved by the village kap panchayats or caste council. The council can forbid couples from getting married and even place a death warrant on their heads if they disobey the order. When a couple is murdered for marry for love it is often by their own families who would rather see them dead than marry into a lower caste. These "honor killings" are the reason for this article. A love marriage advocacy group has created a 24-hour hotline called the Love Commandos that helps young couples escape and marry in secrecy and safety.
     The part of this article that struck me as particularly gendered was that of all the examples given in the article, all but one were women who fell in love with men below their caste. Also, women often bear the brunt of the physical punishment when they disobey their families. They are sometimes beaten repeatedly as to discourage them from attempting disobey the caste council. One girl in the article's mother attempted to sell her into slavery three times before the Love Commandos helped her escape to safety. I doubt that in India you can be sold into the slave trade as a male unless you are still a child. For young women though, this is a viable option to families who feel that they have dishonored the family in an irreparable manner.