Question

Reconstruct the life of a Girl Child living in the early 19th century India.

Answer 1

The 19th century India was far far away from being the ideal society for a girl child to live in. The state of girls and women at that time was worse than any one could imagine. The male child was considered superior than her (as it still is the reality for many of Indian families). She had no right to study either. By the time a girl crosses the age of 6 or 7, she was stopped from setting foot outside her home and the preparation for her marriage would have already begun. By the age of 10-11 most of the girls were married and that too with men way too older than them. And soon they were forced to give birth. The only thing worse than getting married without her will, was to become a widow. In the early period of 19th century Sati was still prevalent in the society. So a girl had to go through mental and sexual trauma until her husband was alive and after his death she had to sit on his pyre and get burned to death. Even after the horrific Sati practice was abolished, a widow's life was not easy. She had to go through living hell. 
But 19th century was the period which saw the rise of women's right activism and feminism in India. Much credit to this should be given to the British Raj. It was the time when middle class developed in India. The middle class which had got colonial education was highly influenced by the lifestyle of the colonial rulers. They tried to imitate them and they realized that the condition of their women is  big hurdle in this attempt and thus they started educating their women. The nationalists saw this as the influence of western culture and thought it to be  threat to the indigenous culture. But the women reformists argued against this saying that educated women will have more say in the family and thus they can stop young Indian men from being influenced from Western culture and they will the custodians of Indian culture.