Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
The last maid who worked at our house – her husband abandoned her, while she was pregnant with her first child. Then, when she stopped working at our place, we got a young woman with two children under 5; she was friendly but feisty – she bargained hard and laid down a strict list of tasks that she would do and not do. She worked with us for a month, after which she had to stop. Because, her husband didn’t like her working; it injured his prestige, you see. If you think you are the boss, you work and support the family, I’m not going to contribute anything, he whined. And that was that – she had to stop. In the interests of maintaining some peace at home.
Her replacement, a woman she brought along – is a 40-something widow. Seeing her calm and cheerful face, one would not guess at the tough life she must have led to bring up her two sons.
The stories of these women are not rare in any sense. Abandoned, threatened, intimidated, overworked, left widowed (in many cases, with the husband dying of alcoholism-induced-cirrhosis of the liver) – these are the common stories of the working class women of our country. I’d hate to come across as dismissive of any social class, but what is the reason that women, and women alone seem to carry the burden in so many poor families?
Women of the middle and upper classes still have the luxury of deciding whether or not to work, but for these women, it’s not a choice. Perhaps, given a choice, they’d love to put up their feet and sit, even if just for a day. Instead, they get up at unearthly hours, finish the domestic chores at their own homes (catch the men chipping in with these!) and then set out for a hard day’s work. Mostly, just so that their children can have a better life.
(Which is why, this whole ‘fatwa on Muslim women’s salaries’ controversy is so ridiculous. The women who desperately need the money – it doesn’t make any sense to them; and as for the women who ‘want to work’, well, I don’t see them listening to such outdated pronouncements, do you?)
Also, do go read Space Bar’s article on the middle class and how they could do more to support domestic workers.
Founder & Chief Editor of Women's Web, Aparna believes in the power of ideas and conversations to create change. She has been writing since she was ten. In another life, she used to be read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
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