If a woman who’s getting married, and has a sister, then she is immediately branded with the phrase, ‘saali aadhi gharwali‘. The literal meaning of this phrase is half-wife. Why would people deem a sister-in-law as a man’s half-wife even if he is getting married? It implies that a man can have ‘double’ mazaa. People say that the phrase is not supposed to be taken seriously and it’s all a joke but how long will we keep ignoring jokes in the name of sexism? People on Twitter have united to have the phrase ‘saali aadhi gharwali‘ retired from vocabulary and we totally agree!
The conversation was initiated by journalist Rituparna Chatterjee who said that she was always creeped out by the phrase saali aadhi gharwali. This led several people on Twitter to agree with this. Many commented on deeply sexist this phrase was and how it just encouraged men to flirt under the pretext of monogamous marriages.
One of the Twitter users replied to Rituparna Chatterjee’s tweet and said that the concept of treating a woman like the family’s property is very disturbing while another replied and said that due to this concept if women are given a chance, they would not prefer to live in a joint family.
Another male Twitter user wrote that the phrase saali aadhi gharwali gives a man opportunities to flirt with the sister-in-law and pretend it’s all a joke. Another man also shared his experience and said that people around him repeatedly used this phrase when his sister-in-law came to live with him and his family. He also added the tone with which this phrase is used is always lewd and hints at something more than a joke. Check out more
This is quite true. Just because there are some fun rituals like the jutta chupaai and darwaza rokna, this does not mean that the jijaji has the right to call the sister-in-law his aadhi gharwali. Will society’s reaction be along the same line if women start calling their brothers-in-law their aadha gharwala? I am 100 per cent sure not! In fact, people will go on a slut-shaming spree and call women obscene names the day they “joke” that their brother-in-law is their half-husband.
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So, it is high time that the phrase saali aadhi gharwali retires. It is 2023 and women irrespective of the relationship they have with any man, need to be respected.