This morning I was reading in Eli's high school geography book about "dowry deaths" in India.  Girl babies in India are looked upon as a liability.  Babies are often aborted if it is determined that the fetus is female.  The theory is that girls must be supported all their lives; and that, therefore, the family of the bride owes the family of the groom a dowry since the groom and his family will be supporting her after the marriage.  Marriages in India are arranged, and the two families decide upon an agreeable dowry.  If the bride's family fails to live up to the agreement, the bride's death (often by burning) is a common occurrence.

An instance was cited wherein a girl was to be married before a congregation of 1500 invited guests just outside New Delhi.  On the day of the wedding the groom's family demanded $25,000 in addition to the new car, a wide screen TV, and other luxuries that had already been provided.  The girl rebelled, the groom's family turned vicious, the girl saved herself by calling the police, and she became something of a heroine for her actions.

How did such a crazy idea and custom get started?  Why have women throughout history and in many parts of the world been considered second-class citizens, slaves, and property?  The book showed women in Africa carrying 60-pound burdens on their heads.  Girls in such areas are expected to start working 12-hour days as soon as they're big enough to carry a load.  No such expectations are placed upon the men.

By law, a couple in China can have no more than one child.  Parents want a son who can support them when they're old.  Those boys, however, are born into a society where there is a big shortage of available females to marry.  There is, therefore, a problem with gangs of single men who can become lawless and who are a burden to society.  Are those sons supporting their parents?

In Russia the women are deciding that they're better off without men.  If they marry, they have to put up with their husbands' drinking and abuse.

Even here in America I have the feeling that faithful, caring, loving husbands are a minority.  There are a lot of selfish, oafish, abusive men in our society.

Women in the Church should be the luckiest women in the world.  If they have good husbands, they should count their blessings.

I was intrigued by the story of an LDS mother from America who found herself in a group of women going to Russia several decades ago as part of a forum.  The Russian women with whom they met asked questions of the American women.  When the Russian women learned that the LDS woman was the mother of a large family, all of the remaining questions were directed to her.  How could she afford to have so many children?  What was it like to have a large family?  The Russian women longed to also have many children, but couldn't afford it, and had to work outside the home.  How was it that this woman was able to be a stay-at-home mother?  They envied this woman who was able to be what a woman should be.

I was also intrigued by the story of an LDS mother who was being interviewed in her home by two lady executives sent there by the editors of a widely-read women's magazine.  I don't recall what the woman had done to merit the attention of the national magazine, but I recall her embarrassment at the constant interruptions during the interview.  Her children were needing attention, and came to her requesting this and that.  The phone kept ringing because of Church business and questions about the PTA.  One of the interviewers excused herself to go to the bathroom.  The other sat there with a stunned look on her face and said, "I've been lied to!  They told me at the university to forget about marriage and children—that a vocation was what was important and would be where I would find satisfaction and meaning in life.  I've been lied to.  Here you are with all of these people depending upon you.  You're important.  What am I? —Just a person who can be replaced when my superiors decide they're through with me.  I've been lied to!"

An LDS woman who has a temple recommend, a temple-worthy husband, and who can be a stay-at-home mother is a part of the most blessed, elite group the world has ever known.