It's High Time Household Work Should Be Shared By Male Members Too!

When it comes to household work the onus still falls on the women. It is dominantly believed and accepted that a woman must perform household chores. It's their 'duty' where no one knows who has assigned this duty to her in the first place. Household chores should be a shared responsibility and should not be assigned as a 'duty' to one gender. But this has not been the widely accepted narrative.

Women are expected to manage it all no matter what their work schedule is, no matter how busy they are. At the end of the day, they have to complete the chores. It's high time we raise our voices and change this narrative. It's high time men take up their part of the responsibility.

Here are a few reasons why we need to do away with this lopsided distribution of work on the domestic front:

She Is Not A Machine

Women are expected to be superwomen managing everything perfectly and keeping everything intact. Pop culture's representation of a woman with 10 hands managing 10 things at the same time has given society unrealistic and inappropriate expectations around women and household work. This strongly reinforces the belief that it's their duty to do so and this makes them the 'ideal woman'.

But it's high time we understand that women are not machines they are humans too. They get tired too. The concept of a 'superwoman' is just a problematic notion. Men should be equally involved in the domestic chores and both should give each other a helping hand in the same.

She's An Equal Partner In The Marriage

In a marriage, both the man and woman are equal partners then why the workload is not equal? Or why is domestic work not even recognised as work? The responsibilities should be shared between two equal partners and not defined by gender roles. In families this is witnessed on all levels from grandfather and grandmother to brother and sister the roles are divided everywhere, women are never considered equal.

Pic by Inter Press Service

It's Not Her Duty

Moral policing of women as to what is their 'duty' is and how they'll be bad women if they'll not perform them has been going on forever. But it is not only a woman's duty it's actually a duty of all the members of the family to keep the house running. Men's contribution to household work is often seen as a big deal and even the bare minimum is celebrated.

Men easily get away with these responsibilities simply by 'He won't be able to do it'. How will he cook? How will he wash dishes? How will he wash clothes? As if women are programmed to do this.

It's A Life Skill

Seeing household work as one person's responsibility is problematic in so many aspects. Being able to cook and clean after yourself should be looked upon as a life skill.

Many men spend most of their lives, enjoying the benefits of lopsided distribution of domestic chores first in the shadow of their mothers then in the shadow of their wives, they never understand that it's essential and they should share it to be better partners.

PC: Still from Ka and Ki

This demarcation of duties needs to be stopped and it's high time we witness the participation of men in domestic chores. Women are humans too! Household work is not their 'duty'!

Suggested Reading: Must Women Be Entirely Responsible of Doing Household Chores?