In a society where women are inferior to men, their bodies controlled by men, their actions carried to please a man, yields a breeding ground for the detrimental effects of overpopulation. In countries such as India, women are deprived of the opportunity to be educated. They are taught from birth that they are a burden and their sole purpose is to have children and satisfy the male ego and needs. In Southern Delhi, a young girl by the name of Meena is blamed for the boys harassing her. Her parents, instead of being concerned for her well-being, focus on the devastation that would be inflicted upon their family name if her honour was taken. Girls and women valued not for their mind but for their virtue. The idea that a girl can be made impure by a man teachers her that her worth is determined by a man instead of herself. In Southern Asian countries, women fall victim to bride burning when a woman is doused with kerosene or oil and is set aflame by her husband or her husband’s family if she refused to pay an additional dowry. In India, there are over 2500 cases of bride burning that occur in a single year. In some instances, women who are unable to produce a male child will be met with this fate. If a woman is unable to “offer” her husband’s family anything through a dowry or male children, she is perceived as a liability, an extra mouth to feed, a disgrace. Bride burning relieves the husbands from the “burden” of “maintaining” a wife and will toss her aside through horrific means in order to remarry. Death seen as a small cost for the glory of a higher socioeconomic status.

The pressure for women to have children in itself contributes to India’s rapidly growing population putting a strain on resources. The struggle to find stable jobs and provide children with education is the source of the unsanitary conditions and pollution that has taken place. Women who grow up uneducated are unable to contribute to society and tackle the global issues that have emerged. The pressure to fulfill the expectations that a patriarchal society has imposed upon females is perverse and unjust. It prevents the world from moving forward. Women need to be able to make their own choice. They need to be able to view themselves as more than just their virtue. They need to see a relationship as a safe commitment between lovers instead of a forced binding between strangers. Only until the bonds of patriarchy are broken, can women finally learn to realize their value and love themselves.