Less than two generations ago, there was this cultural misconception in India which held that it was not becoming of a woman to work outside of home. So we can confidently say that Indian women have come a long way from confinement to kitchens to researching abroad, flying planes and traveling to space. However, in my observation, we are slowly leaning towards another extreme of looking down upon an Indian woman if she chooses to be a homemaker, if she is not very oriented towards making a career outside. This is not very good too. A very standard remark made on such women is "What does she do anyway? Watches TV all day. She doesn't work".
While it is true that many "housewives" are addicted to TV and devote their lives in making Ekta Kapur a multi billionaire, it is also true that many working women resort to the same source of entertainment after work. In that sense, their work has only economically empowered them but has not contributed to a major difference in personality or choice. In recent times, another added "hobby" of many young working women is to spend weekends shopping and partying (Not saying these hobbies are bad. Definitely saying they are not great achievements). If one's employment and the added income is only contributing to a multiplication of wants, is it worth being so proud of?
Caution: I am not talking about education here. It is undoubtedly important for women to seek education and knowledge. I am only talking about the general disdain on even educated homemakers.
In my experience, I have met women who have been working for long but are very narrow minded and judgmental. I have also met women who hold liberal views and excel from home. An example of the latter category is my own mother. She is a gold medalist in English Literature from one of the finest colleges in India. Though she worked for a while, she could not pursue teaching after her marriage for various circumstantial reasons. However, she has achieved much just from home. She is one of the best finance managers I know of. For several years, my father always gave her the same amount each month, to run the house. She could proudly make many a rainy day saving from just this, even while meeting regular expenditure. She has her own set of small investments too. She learnt Braille to make notes for the visually challenged. She learnt Sanskrit to understand our scriptures. She attended MS-Office classes when we bought our first computer. She is skilled in a variety of art (crochet, stuffed dolls, embroidery, knitting, baking), not to mention flawless cooking. She guided MA English students towards their thesis. She successfully
and single handedly ran a small evening school for underprivileged
children for years. She currently holds Shloka/Bhajan classes for many kids and has successfully directed several wonderful plays. In short, she has not only always been a homemaker but also an achiever.
All I want to say is, it is possible to be great, right from home as long as one does not get conquered by Ekta Kapur. AND it is not just homemakers who are addicted to TV. It is all about personal choices. Undermining every homemaker is only immature. Yes, working in an office is one way of getting empowered but not the only way. Definitely, an employed woman can enjoy a better standard of living economically. But if her empowerment stops at just that, does she have the right to look down upon women who chose otherwise?
4 comments:
Media also has a lot to do with this...With this changing society , working women are looked at respectably as compared to their so called "home maker" counterparts...People often forget the significance of the term "Home Maker"....sad but true...
I share the same beliefs. I feel it is how you manage your time as an individual that really counts.
Women should strike a balance between enriching their own lives and that of others.
I don't think in this regard media is doing any role. I rarely remember a serial or movie where an female actor is shown respected since she is working outside. It is the poverty people see in their life, and when they see that they can support a good standard of living by both working outside, they do. But we should also think at what cost we are getting that. It cannot come free of cost. A housemaker and a working couple is doing great work at some cost(relatively low standard of living) ans same applies for a both working couple. We can't undermine any of them. It is our personal choice not a judgement of our character.
I could not have agreed more with you, Suganya, when you said that women should strike a balance between enriching their own lives and that of others. The extremes I was talking of in this post is exactly about this lack of balance. And it gets worse when one section blindly looks down upon/condemns the other's choice.
Post a Comment