Indian women have had it with men who don’t support their causes.
Most millennial women in India are unwilling to date men who don’t sympathise with the #MeToo movement or with feminism, data from dating app OkCupid showed.
OkCupid’s matchmaking algorithms pair users based on their responses to various questions. In September, it localised its questions for Indian users. Since then, questions around #MeToo and feminism have been posed to about 5,000 users.
Earlier this year, the #MeToo wave arrived in India, with a number of women speaking out against sexual assault and harassment at workplace. The movement brought down high-profile men in media, Bollywood, and even a minister in prime minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Over 80% of both male and female respondents supported the movement, according to OkCupid’s data.
But patriarchy…
Yet, Indian men remain less likely than women to say that feminism is about gender equality.
Also, fewer Indian men than women believe that household and parenting chores should be split equally between a couple.
Currently, in most Indian homes, these responsibilities are almost entirely shouldered by women.
And even more disturbingly, 14% of men think women should not be averse to marrying into a family that is demanding dowry.
India has a deeply entrenched dowry tradition. Despite stringent Indian laws, newly-wed women are routinely tortured and killed by the husbands or their families for not having brought enough dowry.