How common is gender role reversal?

Sakshi

November 21, 2020 - 2 minutes read - 364 words

There is a woman I know who worked before her marriage. She left her job after marriage but wanted to work again. She tried to convince her new family that consisted of her husband and three other in-laws. The mother-in-law insisted that she can recommence job but she’d still be responsible for cooking for the family of five. They were not ready to have a professional cook. The woman joined a company and worked morning to evening. She’d cook before coming to the office and would repeat the same after going back home.

There is a dozen more women in my circle who work, come back to home and do household chores while the male members of the family relax after work. Some women do it by choice; others don’t have that privilege. When a woman chooses to work in this country, she accepts the societal norms that she may also have to look after home. She has to be brave enough to take the fact that society may see her as selfish, who puts her career before children.

Stereotyping is not just for females; it’s also true for males. Women and in-laws look for a match where the husband earns more than the wife. To fit in society, a man must work while his wife must look after children. For a long time, people thought only men could work outside, and only women can look after home and children. But we have come a long way and accepted that both the genders are equally capable of both the jobs. There are loads of single fathers and male couples across the world beautifully raising children and breaking the traditional customs. Men have also started sharing household chores with their wives.

Every individual has the right to choose whether to work or manage home, with both the counterparts sharing equal freedom. But telling is different than doing it in reality. As I pointed out in my previous article, if power rests with the one who earns and if job and household chores were two mutually exclusive choices, would men be ready to compromise sitting at home and women be ready to be the sole breadwinner?