I think it’s kind of fancy to wear them nowadays especially these pictures show only the rich and famous. The usual purpose is to show that they are married be it sindhoor or ring; however the latter, ring is often a showcase of wealth; atleast in those photos; if indeed they are diamond rings. Commonly just sindhoor is all one needs; for the common man; who cannot afford such expensive items to show they are married. That’s why it’s been there in our culture for long. Ring is a westernised idea which has been incorporated into our culture nowadays. That’s my feeling. I am not in favour of either of these. So just told what I could think.
In my family too Sindhhoor is not compulsory but I keep it often..not in hair parting as it causes hair loss ..I keep Sindhoor high above in forehead close to hairline but not in the hair parting... In my opinion Sindhoor is more conspicuous in displaying the married status of a woman than the ring...I know many ladies who prominently wear Sindhoor and display black bead Mangal sutra just to avoid annoying advances by guys especially at work place...frequent mentions of husband, kid, in laws etc in regular conversations would also convey discreetly that they are family persons and not to be messed with... I’m shocked to read about the sexually harassment that you dealt with...the guy claimed he didn’t know you were married..but even if you were single, it doesn’t justify touching you against your wishes... Thankfully most organisations have strict policies against harassment and committees to deal with such cases.. This may not be the right approach, but many times we too can utilise this simple acccessory to convey that we are booked... It does work..in my previous team there was one guy who would shamelessly flirt and hit on all girls...but he would never give any extra attention to any girl whom he knew was married...so looks like at least some men have respect for married ladies!
Recently when I joined a company some Indian female colleagues were shocked when I told that I’m married. They were like I really don’t look like I’m married and they thought I was a student who graduated recently Although I was blushing, later on I understood that except ring I dint wear any of the accessories which Indian married woman wears! So they thought that I was still single. But felt happy when they thought tat I was a recent graduate
Sindoor n rings are to show the whole world that the wearer is married, so look away. I have seen a few friends wearing sindoor on a daily basis to office n all, it will be very small, high on the forehead, just below the hairline. It looks good with western or formal wear too, maybe due to the size. Am supportive of all this given both the halves wears the ‘married’ mark. N not just the wife with dh roaming freely saying ‘it’s men who are perverts, that’s why women need to show. Men doesn’t need to show as women aren’t gonna hit on me’. Which is not at all true, heard many stories to know otherwise, even after knowing the other men are married. So showing ‘taken’ should be for both.
All my colleagues being American, I felt like people look for that judgement of "is she married or not" looking at wedding ring/engagement ring (I do not have a wedding ring, I have a mangalsutra only). First day at my work at lunch, my boss asked me are you married ? and I started noticing that all my colleagues (every single one is married) wears them!! I have been asked at multiple occasions about my marital status just because they didnt see my wedding ring. I work in an office with only 3 female colleagues. Men frequently bring their wife and kids to the conversation (they usually use their names, even if I don't know them). So I think it is not only a women thing to show off they are married/taken, it is a men thing too. Going back to the original question, I used to wear engagement ring , engagement ring and mangalsutra when I lived in India post marriage and it continued until I moved to the US, and that lasted only for a month. Back in India, where I grew up, all married women wore sindoor and engagement ring and mangalsutra and their husbands wore engagement ring (no wedding ring for them either).
7 years into marriage and still I have unmarried looks. Recently while looking for wedding alliance for my cousin in a temple I was filling out form in the temple for her , when someone came and said they are looking for a bride for their son and asked if I would be interested and she started giving full details of her son. The gold chain which I wear as my thali is not enough to show I'm married. Sometimes I wear black beaded Thali. Most of the times its plain gold. Should do a combination of both I guess. In Amreeka for you they can't differentiate at all. Desis can but other country peeps can't .
Even my gold chain is not too thick comparatively. I wanted lighter chain and dint want anything too heavy for daily wear. But after I moved here initially I used to wear but later on I stopped wearing it for various reasons. Recently when I told my mom tat I’m not wearing my mom was like Omg you are married you should always wear kind of lecture. I said there are many who don’t wear here hinted about my cousins and friends too. And also told due to safety reasons many don’t wear flashy jewels which is true though. After tat she kept quite. I was thinking what if my orthodox in-laws come to know about this ! Huge drama I think But even my DH is not so particular about me wearing it. Infact he is happy if I’m not wearing it and even he doesn’t wear the ring Sorry @Rihana i think I’m derailing this thread. Will stop it
That sounds like a very scary experience . Do Indian companies have sexual harassment training in place ?