Ramazan adds to women’s responsibilities

Ramazan is the month of fasting, of non-obligatory (nafli) prayers, and of taking off from routine life. For housewives however, there is no respite. On the opposite, their workload increases manifolds during the holy month.

Housewives prepare elaborate iftars, get up before dawn to cook sehri, and do their routine chores too besides their religious obligations. Working women are comparatively better off. They do not have time for cooking for iftar and sehri, so they buy snacks and food from the market and spend the remaining time in worship.

Zakia Khan, resident of Chapal Sun City, said that Ramazan is not a month of having delicious feasts. The true spirit of fasting is that of sacrifice. “But in our society, if the meal is lacking in salt, then the family gets angry and let it out on their women,” she complained.

According to her, preparing iftar is the most arduous thing for housewives during Ramazan, while sehri usually consists of leftover curry from dinner, yogurt, parathas or rice. “After three to four hours of sleep, I wake up to prepare sehri for my family. After eating sehri and offering morning prayers, I take hardly an hour sleep and then wake up again to send my children to university,” she said.

“Again I get to sleep for a couple of hours only to get up for midday prayers,” she added. “From then onwards the entire time is spent in cooking pakora, samosas, fruit chaat, channa chat, and dinner for iftar.” She said that her family relishes home-cooked things in iftar and avoid ordering from outside.

Zakia said that the last 10 days of Ramazan are for Eid shopping and she also has to shoulder this responsibility. It means housewives’ responsibilities at least triple during the fasting month as they not only prepare sehri and iftar but also take care of Eid shopping besides fulfilling their religious obligations.

Tahira Asad, a resident of Scheme 33, said that she writes down her Ramazan schedule much before the arrival of the holy month and also shops for Eidul Fitre except for shoes and jewelry beforehand. “I leave shoes and jewelry shopping for Chaand Raat, so that my children can enjoy the occasion,” she added.

Tahira, who is a working woman, said that she returns home from office an hour early and gets down to preparing iftar. “Frozen items are available in the market for iftar, so I do not have to worry much,” she added.

“I prepare dinner and go to sleep after Isha prayers. After a couple of hours, I get up to prepare sehri which is light, usually leftover curry from dinner, yogurt and parathas, etc,” she added. Tahira prepares for office after sending her children off to their educational institutions.

Shabana Sajjad, a housewife from Gulistan-e-Jauhar, said that women in our society have more responsibilities than men. “They give sacrifices to ensure comfort of their families, especially in Ramazan,” she said.

Shabana said that this is the most expensive Ramadan in the history of Pakistan as food inflation has made it almost impossible for the common man to manage two square meals, let alone fruits and other iftar accessories.

“One watermelon is selling for Rs1,000 and medium-grade bananas are Rs400 a dozen, while the income is the same as before. Therefore, this time we break our fast without fruit chaat,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2023.