Irresponsible Parenting

A few days back, my sister received a call from Priya [name changed ;) ], one of her school friends... My sister seemed really concerned while talking with Priya and she was, apparently, trying to console her... After my sister had hung up the call, I asked her what the problem was and what my sister told me was shocking... This is the gist of what she said:

One of Priya's cousins, who is also a school girl, seems to be going to school in an auto daily... Somehow, the auto-driver seems to have won her heart and as in all those old movies, they had eloped together (ya that true love crap)...

And as a result, Priya's parents are very frightened to send their daughter to school in auto.. Moreover, her dad seems to be telling her that it is enough if she finishes her education with schooling itself and he has told her that she should not pursue any college education... The icing on the top of the cake is that Priya's grandmother called up Priya's parents a few days back telling them that Priya has had enough education already (she is doing her second year in higher secondary) and her grandma wants Priya to be sent back to her native village so that she could help in all the household chores... And, Priya, obviously is benumbed and has called my sister to seek some consolation...

I have a few questions in mind regarding this, but I'm not sure if I will ever get proper answers to those... They are:

1. What was the fault of Priya in this? It seems she is a good student with >80% score... The poor girl must have had a lot of dreams and how terrible would she be feeling right now?

2. And kind of parents are these, who cannot trust their own children? I have seen proud parents who have completely backed their girl child with utmost trust and in return, the girl children have made the family proud by scoring good marks and securing good jobs. But it is equally true that there are parents who believe that their girl child must not be too highly qualified. And the reason behind that is even more shocking: "It will be impossible for us to find a suitable groom for our daughter if she is too highly qualified..."

These parents care not for their children and if they have, they should be proud, not troubled, if their children aspire to study some good mainstream courses..

3. When are we ever going to wake up? When are we ever going to realize that a woman is in no way lesser than a man? When is this stupidity ever going to end?

4. Atleast if any youngster is reading this blog, at least promise yourself that you will be a responsible parent; will you?