Cooking and cleaning are basic skills everyone should learn. In this busy world, we should devote ourselves to being self-sufficient. Being clean and hygienic is a basic necessity, and there is no gender role for that.
In the modern era which we live in, considering cooking and cleaning as a women’s job just doesn’t make sense. For ages, cooking was considered as a skill which only women should know. This was due to several traditional influences that men were supposed to bring bread for the family and women were supposed to do the housework. But now the time has changed as well as the lifestyle of people. Today, regardless of the gender everyone works, both men and women are equally tired, and we can’t expect women to do all the household work. It is difficult for her to manage both work life and family all alone.
There should be a mutual understanding between family members. One may be good at cooking and one may be good at cleaning. Hence, in a family, we should split and share the work according to everyone’s convenience.
Division of housework helps to reduce the time and effort taken to complete a particular task. Also, it increases the time that your family can spend together making memories. Engaging your children in small tasks helps to improve their concentration and also their sense of responsibility.
For many, it can provide a little relaxation from worries and tensions. From a small study published in the journal, Mindfulness found that participants who engaged in mindfully washing the dishes meaning they took a moment to inhale the scent of soaps and to allow their skin to absorb the warmth of the water reported a 27% reduction in nervousness, along with a 25% improvement in mental inspiration. This is small psychology behind this.
Based on research, on average, an Indian man spends only 19 minutes doing the household chores which shows that Indian men have a lot to catch up. Raising the children in a gender-equal way and equally exposing them to do small household tasks can ensure their future participation in sharing household chores.
Society always tries to define the roles of a woman and how she should carry out these roles. She is expected to do certain things. Due to these expectations, people tend to blame women when things go wrong. And this also includes several men, who consider it not as a life skill but as a duty of women in their lives.
These traditional norms of society often force girls of this generation to react as if they are rebelling. On the basis of gender equality and claiming to be independent, they are often careless towards doing household chores. However, one important point we need to note is that if we want gender equality then there should be participation from all sides.
In the name of gender equality, one shouldn’t be careless and expect the other to do everything. If we want to be independent we have to do it. Giving importance to basic skills like cleaning and cooking is very essential and it cannot be ignored.
Well, as we all know we are facing a major pandemic Covid-19, there have been several negative impacts on the same worldwide. However, one thing which can be considered as positive is that many Indian men have started helping with household chores. This can be a starting point in those families where men never used to help their spouses.
Cooking and cleaning can be a passion for some people who enjoy doing them. If cooking is one’s passion, it cannot be considered as a chore; rather it can be a fun activity that makes you feel content seeing others enjoy your food.
Cooking and cleaning are the two essential skills that we need in our daily lives. Generally, there is a gender gap in doing these tasks and that will continue for a long time. This gap can be brought down by the equal participation and sharing of the household chores between the members of a family.
By nature, most women are more nurturing and men are more goals oriented. There is nothing wrong with that. This does not mean stereotyping men and women in any way. There are also men who are nurturers and women who are go-getters. And that’s absolutely fine. We are aiming for a gender-equal world where everyone is treated equally and given equal importance regardless of their gender. This can only be attained if everyone thinks differently and teaches their children how to think differently in their own way so that they could grow up into adults who understand the concept of gender equality.
By TEAM KRYPTONITE
Mentor group of Prof. Tinku Joy
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