Is virginity too overrated in India?

Virginity is a state described when a person has never experienced sexual intercourse with the opposite gender. It is mostly used as a scientific term and has nothing to do with a person’s life or character. But India, being a land of culture has always made this particular word a matter of topic and concern for over years. Especially when it comes to women. Women in India are judged in many fields just because of their virginity. Men are considerably less judged by their sexual stature in the society. Over the recent years, virginity has been too much talked about and overrated in India.

A female or a girl often gets a question related to her virginity. Even if she is highly educated and possess a lot of qualities, just before marriage she is expected to be a virgin. At times even at workplaces, her close colleagues are interested in knowing about her personal life. Directly or through networks, virginity becomes a topic for discussion every time a girl comes into the picture. The true definition of virginity is in scientific terms. It is nothing but a period in life where an individual has not experienced any kind of sexual activity so far. But that does not point to the individual's character or capability. A person, be of any gender has his/her own methods of living a life. No doubt, getting settled by marriage is an important phase in everyone’s life, but judging a person because of his/her virginity before marriage is completely absurd.

Over the years, virginity has been largely a topic in which women are constantly dragged upon. They are never asked about their qualifications, capabilities, likes or dislikes. All they have to answer is the groom’s question of whether she is a virgin or not. Considered if she is a virgin, she is pure and given a high stature and in case she is not, she is termed with several meaningless and over the edge slangs. Women in their early 20s are constantly judged because of this. Many even prefer to stay single because of the expectations from their partner over the virginity issues. Women are considered individuals who have been confined to the kitchen and are constantly being judge over being a virgin.

India needs a dramatic change in this behavior. No person irrespective of gender should be judged only because of his/her sexual standards. Sex is a need and it has nothing to do with productivity. Biologically Sex is described as a process of reproduction. Nevertheless, it has nothing to do with character, stature or even being clean or pure. This is the mindset of people in countries like India which has raised a great concern in recent years At times, we even have a description of a virgin as “a woman who has never had a sexual intercourse”. Now, where does the word 'woman' come from? If I am not wrong, virgin is described to be a person’s position irrespective of gender. Linking the word particularly to women or a girl is a completely biased opinion that is constantly being raised in our society. Virginity should be termed to both genders, as it doesn’t describe any particular gender as a whole.

With each passing day, the issue of virginity in India is getting worse. Many women in their teen and even as adults are always judged and manipulated for not being a virgin. Some are asked personally while some even get a question raised publicly. There are cases in which women before their marriage are only judged by their virginity even though they have a degree much higher than that of the groom. A person, particularly a woman should be judged because of her traits, her productivity, her beauty or even her intelligence. She should never be judged because of her sexual experiences.

The practice of using slangs for girls who are not virgin should be stopped. People should be made aware that uttering words which describe the character are a serious offence, considering how deeply it affects the person spoken to. Women are always spoken harsh words either on their face or simply at their back if they have a label of not being virgin. Virginity has nothing to do with the stature of a person. Character and capabilities are earned and they can never be termed because of things like sex. It depends totally on the mindset of the people who are associated with it. A lot of women are successful and single, thanks to their productivity and capability and standing tall against various social norms.

No doubt Virginity is an overrated topic in India. With a number of people constantly judging the character of a person through virginity, it is high time we should take a stand in changing the current scenario. Parents, teachers should come forward in spreading awareness to their children about these topics. Virginity is just a state of sexual stature in life and it has nothing to do with someone’s marriage or love relations. Particularly women should not be targeted in this overrated issue in India. Being virgin or not being a virgin is a decision taken by an individual and it has nothing to do with capabilities. A person is capable through hard work, intelligence and a pinch of love. No woman or man should be judged because he/she has had sex before. This is a disease that is spreading throughout India at an uncontrollable speed. It's time we all should stand up and change our sex driven mentality to a clean and more meaningful state of mind, respecting women.