It is time our men realised that they needed to share the domestic workload with their partners
GUJRANWALA: The domestic culture in South Asia is toxic. Men are given the sole responsibility of being the breadwinner of the family, while women slave away at home. Working a nine-to-five job is indeed difficult, and men do confront and overcome numerous challenges and mental strain on a daily basis; however, they are completely absolved of their domestic responsibilities, and can relax the minute they get home.
With the calls for women’s empowerment and the acceptance for working women growing, we forget that empowering a woman does not come by just ‘allowing’ her to work. While many men have gotten on to the bandwagon and even encourage the women in their families to join the workforce, they do not contribute in making this transition easy for the woman. She is not just working at the office, but also at home. The ‘empowered woman’ wakes up at four to prepare breakfast for the family, get her children and husband ready for school and work, cleans up after them and washes the dishes, prepares lunch, and struggles to reach her office on time. At work she works extremely hard so her work may be noticed and appreciated among all the men who made their way to work in a fresh state of mind. She barely gets time for herself even during lunch break. Once done with work, she picks up the children and the rigorous domestic routine starts again. Meanwhile, the man comes in from work and rests away. Eventually most women give up their job due to the extremely demanding and draining routine.
It is time our men realised that they needed to share the domestic workload with their partners. It is only when she has a supportive partner, will the woman be truly empowered, and we will progress as a society and country.
Qaanita Shahzad Saroya
Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2019.
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