Introduction

This project’s main aim is going to be about helping North Indian women deal with cultural pressures, like being expected to get a degree but in reality becoming a housewife, having arranged marriages, and then being judged by personal choices including how you dress, or if you drink, or who your crowd is. These extreme expectations on women can cause stress and make it hard for them to feel independent or the feeling of always being watched. I know that, growing up, my parents would tell me to think about their reputation, what others would think of their daughter doing certain things, or how I was dressing at school. That’s why I feel like other counselors need to understand their culture and the backgrounds of these women to offer the right kind of support.

Arranged Marriages

Reading this article, "Development and preliminary validation of the Cultural Values Conflict Scale for South Asian women” by Arpana Inman, really shed s a light on the topic arranged marriages. Where a marriage for North Asian women, and south Asian cultures in general is seen as bringing families together, sometimes almost seen as a business proposal, instead of two people coming together and marrying for love (Inman 2001). These are usually arranged by the parents and elders of the bride and groom, most times they don't even get to meet until the actually wedding day.

From my personal experiences, I grew up with parents who had an arranged marriage at a young age, and they grew to fall in love with each other, they cared for each other deeply, gave their 4 children anything they wanted. But i've also seen relatives and friends who's parents had arranged marriages live the life they didn't want, and since its also almost shameful to get a divorce, this took a toll on their kids lives. Anger was almost always taken on the children, with strict rules and high expectations.

There’s also a strong belief that women should marry at a certain age, which can sometimes conflict with career or education goals. feeling like they are always running out of time, but meanwhile, in American culture, love is seen as the foundation of marriage, and because of these differences, South Asian women raised in both cultures may feel torn between the two expectations, and even having to hide a part of their lives from their parents. The saying, strict parents raise sneaky kids.

Sex roles

Women are usually shown as less important, often being obedient, for pleasure, or seen as bad. And these women are often shown in ways that support traditional male-dominated ideas. This article talks about how certain cultural portrayals are making it seem normal for women to be treated unfairly, and how it has shaped society into thinking certain views on women, and even how these women see themselves. In many cultures like South Asian cultures, a woman’s value is mostly based on getting married and having kids, and education is seen as a way to find a better husband. They are living in a society where the men have more power, and may feel guilty if they don't follow these cultural background norms.

Take a few minutes to answer some questions from the link in our bio to share your experiences with growing up with arranged marriages, immigrant parent households, and just female expectations that were set for you growing up. Everything is anonymous .

Why should you use this social media platform?

This Instagram page for North Indian women who are struggling with cultural barriers to come together. This platform will offer helpful information, have discussion pages, group chats for certain struggles, and counseling support that will be respecting the North Indian cultures at the same time.

The social media page would include:
- Anonymous support groups, these women need a safe space to share their experiences, find others in the same boat, seek advice, and support each other while keeping their identity a secret.
- Inspiring journeys, women can send in their real-life stories and experiences dealing with the cultural norms, and how they learned to navigate these challenges, and how it may have improved their lives now.
- Links to self-help tools, and maybe even counseling services
- Live chats with counselors, if they need someone to talk to, there could be sessions set up with multicultural counselors
- Create a link to a google questionnaire, that is anonymous

Sources:
Inman, A. G., Ladany, N., Constantine, M. G., & Morano, C. K. (2001). Development and preliminary validation of the Cultural Values Conflict Scale for South Asian women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.48.1.17

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