Men its time you shared the load

Who does the laundry in your home? The women of course, as they are the ones who are delegated this work. The task of doing the grubby, grimy and tiring work is always a woman/s lot. A woman is supposed to do all kinds of work from cleaning the home, cooking and serving breakfast, preparing meals, entertaining guests and keeping the linen and clothes sparkling and clean. No one ever stops to give it a second thought, giving a helping hand is beyond the imagination of the men folk. They have always seen their mother and grandmother toiling with these tasks. As a child they have been taught that this is not a task for them and even if they ever attempted to do their own laundry or try to help they were hustled away from the scene of action saying that laundry was a woman’s task. So the very thought was killed before it could take birth. The idea got rooted in their minds that laundry is always a woman’s task. With the passage of time they became firm believers that laundry and women go hand in hand.
This is the common scenario in nearly every household. Women do all the work while the men loll on the sofa watching TV or solving crosswords. Women have taken all this in their stride and have never thought of complaining. Even when they have hinted for some help they have only got disdainful looks in return.
The scene in my home was quite different. A fulltime dhobi used to come and take a bundle full of dirty clothes and come back with a pack of freshly starched clean clothes. My mother only had to check the clothes from the list of clothes that had been given to the washer man. The heavy curtains, sheets and sarees along with my father’s shirts and pants were taken care of by a male dhobi. It never crossed my mind that laundry was a woman’s task alone. How ever when in need we did wash a set of our clothes. I along with my brother not only helped in rinsing the clothes in soap water but also loved to wring them and put them on the clothesline to dry. Working together in doing the laundry always made us happy and relaxed. We never burdened our mother with the task of doing the laundry all alone. We were always by her side to give her a helping hand. We believe in the concept of #ShareTheLoad and have been a part of it for many years.
Now Ariel and BlogAdda have brought into the limelight the plight of numerous women who have been working as slaves bonded to the chains of laundry. I am hopeful and rather sure that such a campaign would bring a great change in the lives of many women because I am sure that the men would give a serious thought to this issue and give a helping hand to their mother and wife by #ShareTheLoad. Even the mothers would not shy away from the thought of teaching their children girls and boys alike to give a helping hand with the laundry. You can now expect to see more smiling women who do not have the burden of the laundry as someone is there to #ShareTheLoad

 “I am joining the Ariel #ShareTheLoad campaign at BlogAdda and blogging about the prejudice related to household chores being passed on to the next generation.”

Show you care by sharing the load

The human race loves to excel in whatever they do, be it rock climbing, sailing para gliding or any task that requires endurance and persistence. These tasks are not gender based and open to both the sexes. With this perspective it is quite strange that the task of doing laundry is considered to be solely a woman’s role. Do the men consider this job to be too demeaning or menial for them to be a part of?
There are two main reasons for this attitude of theirs, their male superiority and the concept passed from generation to generation that laundry is a woman’s job. They have always seen the women of their household performing this task. They were never taught by their mothers how to wash their clothes or even #ShareTheLoad by giving a helping hand to them. Thus this notion has become fixed in their minds that laundry is only a woman’s job. They have become so accustomed to this thought that they find it difficult to break away from it.
Another reason for this thought fixation is the TV commercials advertising for different brands of detergents. These ads are women oriented who are shown discussing the brightness of one brand against another. There are some ads which show women talking about the amount of detergent powder required by them for that perfect cleaning. Even cine stars are shown advertising for a brand by claiming that their wives use a particular brand for their laundry. The stress in all these ads is upon the role of women who look after the laundry. It is but natural that constant viewing of such ads strengthens the belief that laundry is a women only task.
It is now the times to break free from these beliefs and form the concept of #ShareTheLoad. Giving a helping hand would not rob the men of their male superiority. It would only help to create a feeling of harmony and the women would feel cared for and looked after. After all women are not slaves but their partners and working together would better their understanding of each other. This helping hand would strengthen their bonds of love. If such a small act can increase the happiness of the household then it’s really worth it as it means more stable marriages. This would ensure less broken homes. If doing laundry together can achieve this miracle then all those men who care for their mothers sisters and wives should not hesitate but step forward and advocate the policy of #ShareTheLoad.
Ariel a well known detergent brand and BlogAdda have come forth with a campaign which propagates that men should come forward to show they care by #ShareTheLoad

 “I am joining the Ariel #ShareTheLoad campaign at BlogAdda and blogging about the prejudice related to household chores being passed on to the next generation.”

I am capable

Women will always be judged for their appearance, there is not a single day when someone doesn’t comment upon my appearance. Whether it is my best friend telling me I look sexy in the new red dress or my aunt complimenting my outfit or bag. When I completed my school studies and entered college I was strictly instructed by everyone to wear something which is subdued and not fashionable. So I wore the best clothes I could afford and tied my hair modestly and had neutral make up. When ever we read or hear about any successful actress, politician and business lady it’s often about their outfit choices and appearances instead of their work or contribution which is hugely disheartening. As a woman, you grow up knowing that at every turn you are being considered on your looks. In our house, we were strongly encouraged towards competing academically rather than for the approval or attention of others for which I am grateful to my parents. During my MBA course we were trained about what to wear and how to be presentable. During the course the girls were given a printed list with what they should wear, what length should one keep her hair, to send the right message across the company. No matter what are my merits as a candidate, what people would see first would determine my worth, and whether I was worthy of their attention – and the job. Everything else seemed secondary.

Stats based on a survey conducted by Nielson India for Nihar Naturals state the following.
a. 69% of men agree that their judgement of women is based on their looks.

b. 64% of women agree that the judgments passed on them have affected their ability to reach their true potential.

c. 70%of women agree that majority of judgments on women are from family members or friends rather than strangers.

d. 72% of women agree that working women face more judgments on their looks or their clothes than housewives.

Women are not ever taken seriously. This sort of judgement and criticism is primarily reserved for women, and it will always be there. We can fight it, and we can make progress – but we can never eradicate it. People love it too much to give up stereotyping. But now this is no longer accepted by us Women. By reducing a woman’s worth down to her appearance, we slyly diminish her role and her value as a contributor to society. People care far too much about how things look, rather than looking at how things are. I’m proud of myself, my job and my achievements. I’m proud of the people I represent and I want them to be proud of me. Women criticize women far too harshly. Far too much attention is paid to people’s appearance, women’s especially. Its time now that women should stop analyzing, just get on with life and enjoy it. Substance is more important than appearance.

“I’m breaking stereotypes based on appearance by sharing my experience for the #IAmCapable activity at BlogAdda in association with Nihar Naturals.”

Free from stereotypes

As a woman you are judged by your Appearance. Like it or not, you are being judged by how you look, how you dress, and how you carry yourself—and, if you’re lucky, how you do your job. Like it or not, every day we women are being judged. People make decisions about us based on our appearance every day. What’s more, we’re doing the same thing. We are under the microscope every day. Our employees, our colleagues, and our clients judge us by how we look, how we dress, our table manners, and our grooming. Women should not be judged on their clothing.
Nielson India conducted a survey #IAmCapable on behalf of Nihar Naturals and the results are as stated.
a. 69% of men agree that their judgement of women is based on their looks.

b. 64% of women agree that the judgments passed on them have affected their ability to reach their true potential.

c. 70%of women agree that majority of judgments on women are from family members or friends rather than strangers.

d. 72% of women agree that working women face more judgments on their looks or their clothes than housewives.

Feminism has made progress as women start to make their rightful demands to equal status with men. Yet for every step forward, there will be steps backward. Why the girls are being judged on the parameter of clothing. Why girls are being blamed of wearing short shirts and skinny clothes when they are sexually harassed. It is the dirty mindset of certain mindsets of the society and not the fault of women in any way. Why does it matter so much what I was wearing?  I felt wonderful in that dress. And surely that’s all that counts. While these instances have different circumstances, they exemplify a problem the modern woman faces daily: being judged and evaluated almost entirely on her physical appearance. Somehow, society has found it justifiable to demand that girls follow a dress code that does little more than say to them, “Your body is a distraction, a problem. It is said you are what you wear. Women are affected negatively by being judged on their physical appearance. Majority of women believe they face double standards during job interviews and feel they are judged on their appearance more than men. It's a shame that today everyone thinks we have made progress, but when you have 84 per cent of women saying that there is a double standard between men and women then it means that little progress has been made. People should be judged on the work they do and not what they look like. When people are considering candidates for jobs, they are more likely to judge women on style, while men are rated more on substance.
The media need to stop displaying women as objects and start focusing on their accomplishments and skills. Young girls must stop being taught that their bodies are a problem or that they must self-police their appearances in order to be taken seriously. It is only with these changes that women will finally be portrayed and recognized for their skills.

I being a woman did not to be stereotyped. I am a housewife but I did not restrict myself to the four walls of my home. I did the impossible and opened a Gift Shop keeping in mind the needs of the children and their mothers as well. Of course the men were not forgotten. I had something for everyone. My little venture was a great success and now my relatives and even the chacha in law cited my example to his daughter in law. I had done it I had proved that #IAmCapable Now for once and all I had left the realm of stereotypes. I was free.

“I’m breaking stereotypes based on appearance by sharing my experience for the #IAmCapable activity at BlogAdda in association with Nihar Naturals.”