Girl Power? Really?

I just finished reading Daughters of Arabia by Jean Sasson. Excellent read. It successfully gives an honest account of the way women are treated in that country and what the women themselves have to say. What they think. What runs in their minds. A woman's mind is a complex entity. Since i belong to the sex I can be taken as an authority. We can be simple creatures if you know us. But we are made up of a lot of things. Sasson being a member of the same community has done so with aplomb. But the book got me thinking. Are Indian women better off? I sit in my house, read the book and think what is happening to those women. But are we really better off? prison is not only of one type. It has not been categorised. Each one of us has her own demons to fight. life is definitely about survival. India is culturally rich and takes pride in it's traditions but so many of them border on excessive conservative behaviour that even those traits have been incorporated. The women of India are not as free as they like to think. Agreed that the situation is not as dim as it was earlier. but some are still trying to break free. the country is moving forward but the women are not matching the pace. Safety is a concern everywhere. But everyone is not an Indra Nooyi or Kiran Bedi. But is it justified that marriage is an escape for too many members of the female population? Why are women turning to marital bliss to move out of the constraints put on them due to their single status? They have more freedom after marriage. This whole concept disgusts me. I know too many of these females. Because their parents and the proverbial society does not understand them and place draconian rules on them every chance they get. They are more than happy to move out and start life with someone else who atleast comes with the possibility of another chance. I think it is high time that this mistake is rectified and we cease pushing our women to the bonds of marriage because the bonds of meaningless customs are choking them.