During this 21-day lockdown, we will indeed need every person doing their bit. It should start from home – with men doing their share of housework.
Dear Men,
(And I am specifically addressing men from comfortably off families, with a monthly pay cheque and the ability to stay home during this lockdown.)
As India goes into a 21-day lockdown today, you are going to be stuck at home for the next 3 weeks. Like most Indians, the vast majority of you will be living with families, and these families will include women – mothers, wives, sisters, daughters
If you are one of those men who shares the load, who doesn’t have to ask his mother or wife where his socks are, then this post is not for you. (But keep reading, you may still want to share it with fellow men; remember, they will listen to you more than they would to a woman. Sad, I know, but that’s how it is for the large part, even today).
If you are one of those men who wonders what your stay at home wife/mother does all day, or why your wife who works outside the home can’t cook “like my mother always did”, then I genuinely hope these 21 days teach you a few things, among them being:
Doctors appointments, dinners with friends, any repairs needed to the home…you will probably defer a lot of these to the end of the lockdown. Maybe the discomfort you endure will help you think of the work that usually goes into making these happen.
What’s more, none of this work halts for a Sunday. Perhaps being at home for a full 3 weeks, without the usual comforts of domestic labour that we are all used to, will help you better realise this.
And I am not even talking about situations that require exceptional work, like caring for an elderly family member with health issues.
I have been hearing so many people extol the virtues of positivity and pulling together – that at a time like this, we all need to be there for each other.
Indeed we do. Let’s begin with our homes.
Top image is from an ad for Ariel encouraging men to share housework
Founder & Chief Editor of Women's Web, Aparna believes in the power of ideas
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