Superfreakonomics
When I was at UCLA during Katrina I read Freakonomics. When I read the whole theory of Roe v. Wade reducing the crime rate in New York, I was impressed... super impressed!! I loved the book and I read the whole thing very quickly.
So, I recommended the book to S and he recently bought it along with the next book from the same duo, Superfreakonomics. Unimpressed!!!! I just started reading it and have not even finished the first chapter, but am already unimpressed. He talks about how being born an Indian woman is the worst thing ever possible and then talks about a study conducted by two American economists that shows a connection between television and improved conditions of women in India...... Really??? When I told this to S, he burst into a laughter and rightly said, have they seen Indian television?? All the soaps on Indian TV are anything but progressive. And these serials do have huge viewer ratings, so we know that most people are watching them...
I am willing to accept that TVs becoming cheaper and more widely watched may be a factor in how our thinking has changed and many women are unwilling to tolerate abuse, but I also very strongly believe that India is extremely diverse and complex and nothing in India can be explained so simply. Our problems and the reasons for our survival, success and progress cannot be viewed through a simpler American lens.Yes, so most households where women are treated well may have televisions, but that's not all. What are the other factors? And no, I don't think that the women are not being beaten by their husbands, because the husbands are busy watching cricket.... May be the husbands themselves are educated and have a different perspective on how women should be treated than what their father or grandfather had??? And a million other changes that might have affected this. I don't know... All that I know is it is not that simple and there are many more factors involved than just a television.
So, I recommended the book to S and he recently bought it along with the next book from the same duo, Superfreakonomics. Unimpressed!!!! I just started reading it and have not even finished the first chapter, but am already unimpressed. He talks about how being born an Indian woman is the worst thing ever possible and then talks about a study conducted by two American economists that shows a connection between television and improved conditions of women in India...... Really??? When I told this to S, he burst into a laughter and rightly said, have they seen Indian television?? All the soaps on Indian TV are anything but progressive. And these serials do have huge viewer ratings, so we know that most people are watching them...
I am willing to accept that TVs becoming cheaper and more widely watched may be a factor in how our thinking has changed and many women are unwilling to tolerate abuse, but I also very strongly believe that India is extremely diverse and complex and nothing in India can be explained so simply. Our problems and the reasons for our survival, success and progress cannot be viewed through a simpler American lens.Yes, so most households where women are treated well may have televisions, but that's not all. What are the other factors? And no, I don't think that the women are not being beaten by their husbands, because the husbands are busy watching cricket.... May be the husbands themselves are educated and have a different perspective on how women should be treated than what their father or grandfather had??? And a million other changes that might have affected this. I don't know... All that I know is it is not that simple and there are many more factors involved than just a television.
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