Agree with most of the points brought up here, thank you for all the thoughtful insights!
The most important thing in such a case is that the woman/girl needs a support system who will tell her it is wrong of someone to violate her, and encourage her to take a decision which will benefit her rather than being stuck in the 'Log Kya Kahenge' mentality. Conditioning in most households is always about compromise and sacrifice from the female for the greater good and the men owning the women post marriage, especially if she is financially dependant on him. Take for instance this scene. She is asking her own parents to help her become free of the livelong bondage she never wanted for herself. What happened? Anger. Indifference. Suspension of Belief. Did not take 20 seconds for the husband to throw keechad on her character in front of her parents and imply an affair where there is none (because the *BLEH* literally isolated her from her own people for a long period of time as if she is not a human, but a showpiece), and yet, they did not stand up for her but on the contrary blamed her only for the circumstances. She could walk off because she is an educated lady, aware of her self-respect and she could continue her life. Many are not that fortunate, they do not even consider divorce because that word has negative consequences for their family.
We have changed, in that we know we have rights.
We have not, in that we always have to answer for every choice we make.
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I used to watch Patiala Babes, Hanuman Singh is truly one of those rare MLs who should be remembered for how self-aware and empowering he was. He helped the mother-daughter stand up on their own feet, but was their pillar of support if they faltered a little too much in their naivety of experiencing the world. Balika Vadhu was instrumental in bringing about so much of discussion on social change, but true, the Gehna and Basant angle never sat right with me too. Unch Mazha Zoka was pivotal in my childhood. It has explored a lot of cultural themes pertaining to women and education, and beautifully portrayed Smt. Ramabai Ranade's journey from a young girl to a social activist.
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