Yogita Bihani says she was ‘trained’ to marry a man with privilege, attended courses in sewing and cooking: ‘Ultimate goal was to become a bahu’

The actress comes from a traditional Rajasthani family and has six siblings as their parent wanted a son. Sharing her experience, the actress told: “While I was growing up, I realised my brother was privileged and we girls were reduced down to being ‘ghar ki izzat.’ We were not allowed to wear cut sleeves, caprese, or shorts. My family’s ultimate goal was to see me as the wife of a privileged son.”

While her sisters got married at 19 and 21, Yogita wanted a different life.

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“I didn’t want to marry or become the mother of 2 at 25. I was trained to get to a guy. I was given sewing courses, cooking courses and and beauty courses.”

However, wanting a different life, Yogita’s manifestation finally worked. She landed an offer to feature on the TV show Fem Foodies. But, once again the family came in between. “After hearing the news, my family was concerned about my outfit on National Television. How will our relatives react when they will see all this.”

After a lot of drama, Yogita convinced her family to get on the show. That show opened doors for her when people started approaching her for ads and eventually films. However, it was not the end of her struggles.

“Now, my family was convinced but around my brother’s wedding, the bride’s family had an objection with an ad I did. I was wearing a swimsuit. This made my family rethink their decision. They said: ‘If your ad is causing so much problem in your brother’s wedding, imagine the level of issues it will cause around your time.'”

However, Yogita once again convinced her family to support her and eventually moved to Mumbai where she featured in films like The Kerala Story.