The reason for giving such a title to my post is because this is the very same question which prompted me to write a blog post after a very long time.
I teach as a part time job. And also earn. To one of my students, who is in the second standard, one day, I was teaching a lesson -Family. After reading the chapter, I had told him to answer the questions given at the end of the lesson. He was beautifully answering all the questions when suddenly he came across a question for which he had no answer- what work does your father do?
He interrupted me and asked what to write as an answer. Now, let me inform you all that his father is unemployed and his mother is the breadwinner of the family. He continued staring at me blankly. I too had no clue as to what to say or do so I stupidly read the question out to him again- what work does your father do? When I knew that his father doesn’t do anything.
After an awkward pause, I asked him to answer the next question presuming there must be something about the mother’s job. But alas! None! No question about what work the mother might be doing! THAT led me to muse on this subject.
There are two questions that disturbed me.
One, Is it so easily assumed that a woman cannot be the sole earner in a family? It has also seeped into academics. It is almost like telling the kids that your father’s job holds more importance than your mother’s. What fueled my annoyance was the fact that there wasn’t any mention of the mother’s job in the book. And ironically, the lesson was named “Family”.
Two, even if the mother is working, is her job of less worth than her husband’s that it doesn’t even find place to be mentioned in an EVS book?
Why isn’t it still acceptable that a woman does work? That she also earns? And that her job is also important?
Why is it hard to digest that a man doesn’t work and that the mother is the one who earns for the family?
Moreover why is it so easily assumed that the father must be working?
I have no answers.
I have nothing to conclude.
well surely feminism is on the rise and as we all are proud of that we today are lead by a women president!
ReplyDeletebut see as Darwin puts it, we are result of a theory of evolution and the same is a pain full and highly slow process.
now if the ape in the very beginning said i want to know how to ignite and at the same time discover electricity, well please do not take it in a sense that i'm comparing women to apes but the larger picture that the process will take time.
so as a wise man said, time is the essence of life. and we will have to wait!
so cheers to a better future!
every rightly said jacob... but is this situation restricted only to india or across the globe as well??? that is one question that we need to ask ourselves......
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