Share The Load For Gen Next

If we sit back and think for a while, we would realize that a large deal of our learning and knowledge comes from our family and our society. The surroundings and the ambiance where we live and spend the maximum number of our daily hours play a key role in our growth. We learn from our elders, and our juniors in turn learn from us. The cycle goes on and on, but the learning never fades.

However, with time, the knowledge becomes obsolete, and is not in accordance with the modern circumstances. When such a situation occurs, it is important to brush aside the age old notions that are no longer valid in today’s world, and adopt a newer, better learning. One of the prime examples of an age old belief that is still a very much part of our modern society (unfortunately) is that of laundry being a woman’s job. Sigh!

The question arises, why should laundry be just a woman’s job? Isn’t the male member of the house equally responsible in keeping the clothes clean. After all, cleanliness is next to Godliness, and there should be no shame in adopting a practice that can be regarded as divine. Yes, I use the word ‘shame’ here because that’s what many men feel about washing clothes.

However, the onus now lies upon the current generation to make sure that the future generation doesn’t believe in such stereotypes. We should mould the thinking of the society, and take up the responsibility to drive a new learning in the minds of all. Women should not be the only one entrusted with the task of laundry. In fact, both men and women should share the load of laundry, like they share every other task of the household. When we talk of gender equality, why not practice it too?

There can be several ways in inculcating this new ideology. One of them is the Odd Even formula, where men of the house wash the clothes on odd days, and the women on even days, or vice – versa. In that way, a woman can also focus on her other tasks, activities and hobbies on days when the laundry job is being done by men. Another method of getting the message across is to divide the laundry task. For example, the lady of the house can wash the clothes in the washing machine, while the man can hang out the clothes for drying, with role reversal happening after a fxed duration of time, say, every week. If those belonging to the next generation see such changes happening realistically in front of their eyes, their notion of gender prejudices will change, and gender equality will no longer be confined to umpteen articles and essays. Instead, gender equality will be the base on which the new generation will be formed, a true reward to our efforts. 

 I am taking part in the #ShareTheLoad Challenge with Ariel and Akshara at BlogAdda.