Don’t we live in a world full of complexities?
We have absolutely no control over birth, when and where we will be born but we’re still punished for that? Every being on Earth is entitled to equality, mental stability and honest relationships but that seldom happens. What do you say?
Gender Parity
A house is made ‘home’ with its members and their contribution be it decision making, working on relations or daily chores, specially more so now when we all are under lockdown. We should talk, listen and provide emotional support. Tasks shall also be divided among all the members and when partners divide the chores, children learn from them.
It is disappointing to see that even in this era when we are touching the moon and mars, and teaching our girls to become independent we’re failing to teach boys to be respectful of that independence. Many studies suggest that still women do most household chores[1] and even breadwinning wives don’t get equality at home[2].
I believe that we can teach the Generation Next about equality through actions. Now that we are locked in our homes and work has increased many folds, why not make things right. No work should be labelled as per gender.
I beam with joy when I see brands breaking gender stereotypes especially when it comes to the advertisements of detergents, cooking or cleaning which are more than often associated with a specific gender. My heartfelt thankyou to those content creators. Some of the campaigns/ads I love are #ShareTheLoad by Ariel[3], Comfort After Wash-A small step can make a big difference![4], #CelebrateAChange by Sabhyata[5] and Fortune Soyabean Oil (Hindi)[6]. I am sure you’ll love them too.
Relationships & Mental Health
Quarantined life is like a live exam happening globally testing our will, mental health, coping mechanism and relationships.
When we had no time, we always talked about how we don’t get enough time with family, partner, children and siblings or how we could not get time to catch up with friends living in a distant city. But now that we have so much time with us, we are tired of seeing the same faces all the time. I wonder, how can our mind be in such a fix?
The fact that increased lockdown period has caused surge in divorce rate and domestic violence[7], shocks me. I was sad to read how in China[8] and USA[9], divorce cases have increased. In such articles, the main reasons highlighted for rift in partners or among family members are stress, forced lockdown, financial problems, not sharing household chores and people less willing to work things out.
While in Poland, according to a poll[10], it is found that every fourth participant believed that the pandemic-related situation has a good influence on the time spent with the family and there is also a cluster of people who are willing to work on relationships, some are even getting married and utilizing this time to get to know their partners.
Think about those who are forced to remain single at least for one more year. My single friends and I often joke about that, it’s dreadful yet hilarious.
Quarantine has been a challenge to mental health. While talking with people online, most of the time I hear them say how their life has slowed down or they can’t take it anymore. Truth be told, I also went through that phase, but thankfully, it was brief. Even now whenever I get a few moments of darkness in my mind, I tell myself only one thing,
“You are blessed to be safe at home. May the force be with you”.
I often joke about awful situations to deal with them, it really helps. By being safe at home, we still have the choice of life, so sit tight and indulge in hobbies, learn a new language or cook mouth-watering dishes. Dancing to the tunes of internet and technology, the world is communicating. Sipping on self-made hot cuppa, I hang out every evening with my friends in the Virtual Café.
While getting control of our life, we should also not forget about what’s happening around, how Quarantined life is affecting industries across the world. “My thoughts on travel and tourism, the most hit industry owing to novel coronavirus attack is covered in another post you can read by clicking here.
Read also “A page from a girl’s life” by Stuti Shrimali
References:
[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women-men-household-chores-domestic-house-gender-norms-a9021586.html
[2] https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/05/breadwinning-wives-gender-inequality/589237/
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJukf4ifuKs
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W61p4JQ8o08
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7I9OoXTVtk
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi2GGySqsEA
[7] https://abcnews.go.com/US/surge-divorces-anticipated-wake-covid-19-quarantine/story?id=70170902
[8]https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/lockdown-effect-in-china-divorce-cases-increase-marriage-registrations-decline
[9]https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-lockdown-partner-divorce-1492780
[10] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1110608/poland-relationship-and-well-being-concerns-due-to-covid-19/