In a society where the institution of marriage is the main pivot in a women’s life, a wind of change has been blowing lightly, which is gradually getting stronger. Indian society is getting accustomed to a new breed of women. They are well-educated, professionally stable, financially independent, and single. Earlier, there was a time when the society kept nagging a girl along with her parents once she finished her studies, enquiring about the next big thing in her life. This ‘big thing’ was marriage. But this new generation of women is not in any hurry to settle down with a family life. They are the go-getters who have everything in life and are ready to wait for the perfect time and man who is worthy of their love and deserving enough to share this life they have crafted for themselves. As a signal of changing times and priorities, the women, especially the well-educated ones from the upper strata, are confident and bold enough to choose the time to settle down in life. For them, marriage is no longer the main goal of life. They nurture big dreams of career growth and social status instead. They choose to follow their career dreams and earn a social status in the society, along with economic security, which is also very essential in today’s times. The fact that marriage will confine them within the boundaries of home with children to look after is another major factor which makes them go for a late marriage. In India, the thirty-yet-single trend might be just a very small fraction of the entire population, but it surely indicates a shift in the attitude of women. It is always taken for granted that in the institution of marriage, male dominance is evident even though there is huge clamor for equality. Ours is a conservative socio-political system which cannot withstand strong women with attitude. For the educated professionals, marrying late is really a matter of choice between standing up on one’s own rather than leading a compromising life. The women are aware of their rights and are not willing to be doormats any more. They have the power to make bold and independent decisions about their personal life. Many women are not willing to risk their life with a man who they have just met hours, days or months ago. Even though it is only a certain limited percentage of women who enjoy all these opportunities, it is believed that the society, which is confronting a wave of change, is about to witness these trends filter deep inside and down to the middle class sections too.
