have been greatly influenced by the local socioeco-
nomic and cultural conditions. The countries of the
subcontinent share a common cultural heritage,
predominantly Hindu, highly patriarchal, and
characterized by a high level of gender discrimina-
tion and suppression of women that finds expres-
sion in the socializing practices of girls. The social
position of Muslim women has been influenced by
the corresponding position of Hindu women. In the
compounding of Hindu and Muslim cultures the
conservative and restrictive elements of Hindu tra-
dition neutralized the liberal elements of Islam, so
that Muslim women lost out on the Islamic right of
widow remarriage and women’s rights to inheri-
tance, which were denied to Hindu women. In turn,
Hindu women adopted the Muslim restrictive tra-
dition of purdah (seclusion).
Socialization of girls in South Asia starts from
early childhood. Little girls are fed on the model of
submissive, passive, obedient, sacrificing, serving,
and pious non-persons, who are to live and die as
daughters, wives, and mothers, and who should
never as much as even aspire to have an identity of
their own. Female role behavior is instilled into
girls through socialization and the socializing
agents are, ironically, women themselves. The
socializing process takes place at different levels, in
the family, at educational institutions, and through
the mass media.
Girl children are socialized into being different
from boys; from the time of birth they are clothed
differently: newborn infant girls are dressed in a
pink embroidered or smocked frock while infant
boys are dressed in a simple loose upper garment.
From the very start girl babies are given different
toys to play with, mostly dolls and kitchen utensils,
while boys are given balls, toy motor cars, air-
planes, and even small guns. The girls are brought
up to be defenseless, non-aggressive, and depend-
ent. They are taught to look upon their fathers
and brothers, even younger brothers, and after
marriage their husbands, as their protectors and
providers. Girls are not socialized into being eco-
nomically independent; they are generally denied
professional skills that could enable them to take
up jobs. Socialization of girls aims at stifling and
curbing natural instincts of curiosity and adventure,
and at molding them into domesticated, non-aggres-
sive, submissive beings. Girls are discouraged from
playing outdoor games. Running, jumping, climb-
ing, swimming, and even kite-flying is disapproved
for girls.
The concept of ≠izzat (honor) in the subcontinent
plays an important part in the process of socializing
girls. ≠Izzatis closely associated with women’s sex-
south asia 203uality, around which gender relations are struc-
tured. A woman is central to the concept of ≠izzat,
as she can lose or enhance her family’s ≠izzat
through her sexual conduct. So she is guarded and
her sexuality controlled. There is duality in this
respect: while girls’ sexuality is enhanced for the
consumption of men, and girls are taught to take
care of their physical appearance and be shy and
coquettish, they are socialized into suppressing
their own sexuality. They are kept ignorant of sex-
ual knowledge, and segregated from boys and adult
men. Any deviant behavior is most severely pun-
ished as it brings shame and disgrace to the family,
and a socially deviant girl may not find a good hus-
band. It is the responsibility of parents to marry off
a daughter with her virginity intact.
Nothing can sully a family’s ≠izzatas much as
the loss of virginity of an unmarried girl. A girl is,
therefore, instructed to cover her body; at the
slightest sign of puberty she must cover the upper
part of her body with a long scarf, even inside the
house. Girls’ interactions with adult men are closely
watched and restricted. Girls are mostly confined
inside the house, but if they are obliged to go out
they must cover themselves with the burqa≠, a gar-
ment that covers the body from head to toe with
netting over the eyes to enable vision. The burqa≠is
common in India and Pakistan and a girl is usually
required to use it from the age of nine or ten.
Purdah is mostly observed by upper- and middle-
class women. In lower classes women are required
to work outside their homes and cannot afford to
live in seclusion. However in urban areas and with
the rise of fundamentalism, and a desire to emulate
the Islamic countries of West Asia, the burqa≠is
gradually being replaced with the ™ijàb, a square
scarf tied round the head to cover hair. Those girls
and women who resist using the burqa≠are consid-
ered shameless.
The concept of shame permeates every aspect of
a girl’s life. Girls are watched closely and admon-
ished severely if their behavior deviates even
slightly from the prescribed female norms. Girls are
taught to avoid unbecoming behavior: they should
not raise their voice, walk fast, or eat too much.
Girls should not become fat. Among North Indian
Muslims a baby girl is breast-fed for one year and
nine months while a baby boy is breast-fed for two
years and three months; it is believed that baby
boys need to grow physically stronger than baby
girls. The gender discrimination in feeding prac-
tices starts from infancy and continues throughout
life. Girls are socialized into serving the best of food
to men of the household, and prepare the menu
according to their tastes.