Married Indian men are willing to fast for their wife to celebrate and share the experience together, according to a survey coinciding with Karva Chauth, when mostly Hindu women in north India fast for their husband’s long life.
The online poll, by online matrimony platform Shaadi.com, was conducted with 4,920 married and 4,355 single Indian men in the age group of 24 to 36. When married men were asked ‘If they would fast for their better half’, 62.1 per cent of 4,920 of them said ‘Yes’, 17.6 per cent said ‘Maybe’ and 20.3 per cent said ‘No’.
Asked to specify the reason for fasting, 41.1 per cent of them said ‘Want to celebrate and share the experience together’, 32.6 per cent said ‘For her long life’, while 26.3 per cent said ‘Peer pressure — because others are doing it’.
Gourav Rakshit, CEO, Shaadi.com commented: “Fastforher, an innovative concept by Shaadi.com is a social initiative which received phenomenal response last year; encouraging us to further understand men’s perspective about age-old traditions and its impact on interpersonal relations with the women in their lives. Despite changing times, we believe men and women are using occasions like Karva Chauth to strengthen their relationships based on equality and mutual respect. This survey validates the progressive outlook of today’s youth.”
As part of the survey, the men were also asked ‘If they understand the concept of Karva Chauth’. As many as 58.8 per cent of the married men said ‘Yes’, while 41.2 per cent said ‘No’. On the other hand, 47.1 per cent single men said ‘Yes’ followed by 52.9 per cent who said ‘No’.
When they were asked if they agree with the concept of their wives fasting for them, 61.4 per cent of the married men said ‘Yes’, and 38.6 per cent said ‘No’. The response was similar among single men, with 53.7 per cent of them saying ‘Yes’, and 46.3 per cent responding with a ‘No’.
Asked ‘Why do women fast for them on Karva Chauth’, 35.7 per cent married men said ‘Husband’s long life’, followed by 34.1 per cent of those who said ‘To keep their in-laws happy’, while 30.2 per cent of them said ‘It’s just another custom’.
On being posed with the same question, 35.1 per cent of single men said ‘For Husband’s long life’, 35.3 per cent said ‘To keep their in-laws happy’ and 29.6 per cent of them said ‘It’s just another custom’.
Apparently, married men feel the fasting has an impact on their relationship.
For 73.9 per cent of the married men, it helps strengthen the relationship; but 26.1 per cent don’t necessarily believe it impacts the bond.
Karva Chauth falls on October 30 this year.
