Mother-in-Law Stories

It is the “duty” of the daughter-in-law to look after the house, nurse and care for the elderly, cook, clean, entertain, and hold up the family status without a word of protest. In other words, her only function in life is to obey the tyranny of her in-laws.     The Daily Sun

This quote is from the May 4th, 2009 C. E. article in The Daily Sun. No, I have not mistyped the date.  The article refers to the current situation of daughters-in-law in Bangladesh.  Can you imagine the lifetime of undignified servitude?  Apparently, most abusive MILs were also mistreated by their MILs.  Until Bangladeshi brides unite in a bra-swinging street protest against the tyranny of their MILs, until they call for a national “no sex week” to draw attention of their complacent husbands to the despotism of their mothers, they will  continue to perpetuate the abusive customs.

Unfortunately, some Bangladeshi mothers-in-law were reincarnated overseas.  These vixens often quote one of the Ten Commandments to support their domineering attitude towards their daughters-in-law – “Honor your parents”.  One response to their Bible / Torah thumping could be “Do unto others…”  The trouble is that abusive parents most likely truncated the “Ten Commandments” to the first five. Let’s remember that the Ten Commandments were written 3,500 years ago, when “to honor” somebody meant to extend hospitality, provide food, shelter, and safety.  Aging parents could not survive on their own, so it was mandatory for children to take care of their elders.

Times changed.  In our society, here and now, many MILs live in their own tents, have a five years supply of Weight Watcher’s dinners, and are in no danger of being devoured by wild beasts.  The old commandment does not apply.  The updated version mandates mutual respect, the keyword being mutual.  So, if your mother-in-law does not treat you with respect, google directions to Bangladesh, turn her facing the glorious sunrise, and send her where she will feel a home.  By the way, last week, women in Kenya vowed to go on a week-long sex strike to protest violence.  Their septuagenarian First Lady joined in. The wisdom of tribal women…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Daughter-in-Law, Eva's view, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.