(This story was first published on 20 June, 2020. It has been republished from The Quint's archives to mark International Women's Day.)
Whether or not you've watched Netflix's Indian Matchmaking, which has viewers divided at the moment, you know how toxic India's 'rishta' culture is. Before people like Sima Taparia, we had (and still do) matrimony ads in newspapers and they were problematic AF.
This matrimonial ad went viral on social media but this is not the first time that men are being ‘unrealistic’ about their expectations when it comes to looking for a life partner.
We’re in 2020 but the one thing that has been pretty much consistent, since we can remember, is the need for a “beautiful”, “well-educated but non-working”, “virgin” bride who “doesn’t drink or smoke”. These grossly sexist matrimonial ads and their inappropriate demands make every woman cringe, so here’s our very honest response to every matrimonial ad ever by every woman ever.
“Wanted an extremely beautiful and excessively pretty, cultured and well-mannered, vegetarian, homely, virgin, convent-educated girl. Photographs are a must”.
“I want a girl who doesn’t drink. If she wants she can wear jeans at home but while stepping out, she should respect our caste”.
“We are from a well-to-do family, having cattle and farming equipments. We are looking for a girl, suitable girl. She has lot of fertile land, should be private, should give calf once a year”.
(Disclaimer: Ignore the grammatical errors above, we’re only quoting some legit Indian matrimonial ads.)
Yes, believe it or not, these are REAL classified ads that we spotted in some of India’s leading newspapers and matchmaking websites. If this didn’t entertain you enough, the video definitely will.
Camera: Sanjoy Deb
Camera assistant: Gautam Sharma
Editor: Veeru Krishan Mohan
Script and Direction: Divya Talwar
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