Sushma Swaraj ticks off a lot of boxes with a lot of people; she is a politician that many across the politcal spectrum approve of; including a Pakistani woman who wants Swaraj to be the PM of her country. So when Sushama Swaraj said that men should learn home science, many were in wholehearted approval. Some of course did not agree with her. We ask the question: should men learn home science?
According to Sushma Swaraj, men learning home science would help in several ways: this will help to break traditional mindsets presuming that cooking, care giving and looking after the home are ‘women’s jobs’. Not only that, men pitching in with house work would help ease the burden that is typically placed on the average woman in the home. The idea is to break the regressive mindset displayed in that image.
Though in patriarchal India, many men would have women restricted to the home, engaged in homely pursuits and ‘seva’ of the family, more and more women are choosing to break these shackles. A woman can literally be anything she wants to be today; many men are waking up to this rather unwelcome (for some) fact.
Swaraj also felt that women should be proficient in martial arts; in other words they should have the physical skills required to defend themselves should the occasion present itself. This is for those who believe that women should not be in certain place at certain times, should not be dressed a certain way… all for her own protection of course!
For every man (and woman) who dismissively said – “Oh she is just a housewife”, this would be a much required tutorial about what exactly a woman does do in the home. She cooks, cleans, organizes, shops, manages, teaches the children, mends, takes care of infants and elders and gets paid…nothing! If men were required to do a fraction of what women are routinely expected to do, there would be a new appreciation for all that a woman does.
Consider the men who actually want to learn home science but are disheartened by “what people would say”. In defence of men, if women are under pressure to hold the fort at home, there is pressure on men to be the breadwinner of the family as well. If more men were conversant with home science skills and if society was more accepting of the stay at home man/father, this pressure on men would also be less as well. Traditional roles are getting reversed; men should also have the benefit of this.
When Sushma Swaraj said what she did, her husband, Swaraj Kaushal who tweets under the handle @governorswaraj had this to say… “bad times ahead”. Clearly was just kidding about the 'learn martial arts' part of her statement. Now if only other men would develop a sense of humor and delight in the success of their wives as well!
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