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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Why Me??


The facts about laundry presented by Ariel, honestly, did not shock or surprise me at all. Almost every family I know either has a housemaid to wash the clothes or else, womenfolk do that work. It does not matter if women are working with their day’s schedule as tiring as a man’s; household work, mainly cooking and laundry are the two constants in her life. From undergarments to upholstery, women spend a considerable time in washing clothes. Even today, the advent of latest washing machines has not really changed the situation, because the issue lies in perception and thinking, and is far deeper. It will surely take time to change but the constant efforts towards awareness like those of the brand Ariel may accelerate the results. This wonderful video questions this deep set but nonsensical belief.


The disparity that has been there since centuries has molded the lives of women and confined their precious time into a cocoon. For housewives as well as working women there is hardly any time left for other important areas of life and most importantly, for their own self. The only thing that gets the least attention is their own self: tired bodies and bored minds. As per the data by American Time Use Survey (released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics), on an average only 19 % of men do housework like laundry compared to 49 percent of women. Hence, it does not matter in which part of the world one is, women are expected to do almost all the household work. This shows how deep rooted the chauvinism is.


The first thing is to change the perception of Indian men- As the stats say that more than 76% of men feel that laundry is a woman’s work only; it is a bit depressing. Even boys belonging to progressive and educated families fall behind at some point when it comes to open thinking and equality towards women. If a girl lags behind in household work or has a disinterest for cooking, she is tagged as lazy and her other talents and interests are completely ignored. Boys need to be trained right from their childhoods that a job is a job, sans a gender of its own. When both the sexes are equal, it should reflect in attitudes as well.

Second thing is sharing- Men should help their women in laundry instead of stuffing themselves with food or watching that cricket match. This way, not only love will increase but his woman will feel cared for as well. And we all know, nothing can be more risky than a woman in a sour mood all the time. Gallup's annual Social Series Lifestyle poll, conducted in December 2007 shows that only wives are expected to do the laundry.



Set an example- Children are amazing learners and most of their perceptions come from passive observing. Hence, a boy will learn to give women equal importance and to respect her time. Girls too would learn to value their time and self respect this way. Hence, this is good and practical way to teach children some lessons in gender equality.

Doing laundry is not only boring but can be very time consuming. If a man does not help his woman in this chore or thinks it below his ‘macho-ness’ he needs a crash course in manners. The urban male who is educated and modern in real sense of the word, would never run from his responsibility. So, guys, show your girl, how much you care for her. Lending a helping hand will only elevate your respect in her eyes, and in your own as well!

PS- how deeply gender roles are inscribed! This one explains it awesomely well!!



I am writing for #IsLaundryOnlyAWomansJob activity at BlogAdda.com in association with Ariel.

Images  from-



9 comments:

  1. I hate ironing, it's so annoying! I prefer doing the yard work or even the laundry.
    Have a good week, Ankita!
    PS: Ariel belongs to Procter&Gamble. :((

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Katrin

      ya, it is really boring. I think they do not test Ariel on animals.

      :)

      Delete
  2. Good post. Personally, I have grown up watching my Dad help my Mom with washing, he always helped her with household work - cooking, dish washing, cleaning, etc. And during summer vacation, me and my sister used to help our Mom with household work. So, for me housework has always been a family affair and never a solely women's job!

    Thanks for sharing the ad, but my Dad at home proved that a man always does his share of the work at home to help his wife - thats one way of showing her how much he cares and loves her!! And sometimes when I call my sister she tells me how my bro-in-law is busy in the kitchen cooking something interesting for dinner - they often cook together and he supports her in every other housework. So, yes men should definitely share the work.

    Cheers!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Charan

      Thanks a lot! yes, I have grown up like that too and I think we are really lucky! :)

      Delete
  3. Goood Post.
    I can relate because I have seen my mother struggle a lot being a working woman with house chores. My Dad practically does nothing to support her. This has bothered me a lot since childhood. I guess this is another factor we get to face because of male dominant society.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ph_

      Thanks a lot! That is really sad. Our society is irritatingly male dominated and it is a tragic thing.

      Delete
  4. Ankita,

    In our home, my husband does both laundry and yard work. He also cleans the living room. In some of our friends house, their husband cooks and wife does other work. As you mentioned, it's important to show ours kids that no work is high/low and we need to share the work in the family.

    By the way, thanks for stopping by my blog.

    ReplyDelete