Half-year of the hausfrau

  PLENTY OF FEMINIST WRITING is churned out by people actively engaged in an area of expertise/field of work. As a therapist, educator and social worker, I have always had plenty to say, a stand to take and debates to relish. (Note: I am NOT saying working folks are the only ones with opinions of value!) But for the past 6 months, I was none of these. I wasn’t even (hushed whisper) a working woman. I was, to put it plainly, a hausfrau, and this is an account of my experience. It happened the usual way. Marriage, partner’s transfer and move abroad. We were going to live in the United States, a country I was very familiar with, had lived in before and was acclimatized to. I knew it was only a matter of time before I re-entered the workforce. Having worked non-stop—often two jobs/businesses simultaneously—for the past decade, I was suddenly faced with swathes of time and the freedom to stare into space if I so chose. As a part of me watched from the sidelines, the job-juggling girl I once knew threw herself headlong into home decoration, baking and the maintenance of an immaculate home. I will come right out and say it. I loved every minute. No miserable Mondays, time to explore my nesting side and the incredible luxury of fussing over cushions and bed linen just because I could. From whipping up batches of brownies to color-coordinating the tableware, running errands at a leisurely pace and greeting my spouse with an elaborate, freshly-cooked meal each evening, I did all the things women have sought to break free from in decades past. And yet, there I was, a self-confessed feminist, trying to shush her cognitive dissonance by convincing herself it was all a temporary romp in the park. The first signs of discomfort arose when I had to fill in forms asking me what I did for a living. Homemaker, I’d write, a trifle defiantly, not too pleased with my answer. I was the flexi-time lady, the on-call chauffeur, the go-shopping-at-a-whim buddy, the One Who Did Nothing. And yet I know full well, from my own experience and that of the women in my family, the solid work it takes to run a well-maintained, smoothly-functioning home. Upkeep is akin to a garden—unless you’re constantly weeding, it’s going to overwhelm you. Then what was it, that feeling, the twinge I felt spending money not earned by me, the knowledge that I could enjoy this freedom because my partner worked to put bread on the table? I put it down to upbringing, role models and childhood narratives. To years of seeing a working mother and grandmother, of being goaded toward financial independence by my stay-at-home grandmother, of growing up hearing that marriage could wait, I needed to carve out a career first, of being firmly told that “sitting home” was not why I was educated and that with my two Master’s degrees I should jolly well step out and make myself useful to the world. Should I be hating this, would it be terrible if this state of affairs were to go on forever, I’d ask myself, a trifle alarmed at how much I was enjoying the change of pace.  I felt no boredom, I always had tasks to accomplish, and nothing gave me greater pleasure than snatching some hours of reading time on the couch, with nowhere to go unless I wanted to. Perhaps I reveled in it because I knew it was a temporary situation.  It is unthinkable to me that I remain unemployed, even as I acknowledge that there is absolutely nothing “wrong” with the idea. I have always respected the work of homemakers, now even more so. But clearly some part of me still believes that those working outside the home are worthier. So as I get back to work next week and my cognitive dissonance fades away, to be replaced with Monday morning blues, rush hour traffic and a less-than-tidy home, I hope I can hunker down and stare my biases in the face, so the next time I switch roles, I am freer of labels and sexist baggage and can embrace another aspect of myself more willingly.    

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Order Erispan with No Prescription, A WORKING WOMAN is a 'housewife first', said a recent judgement from the High Court (HC) of Karnataka. The HC was approached by a woman petitioner after her passport application was rejected by the Passport Office on the grounds that she had not disclosed her employment with SBI in the application form. The Court ruled that there is no instance of suppression of facts, Erispan samples, as a woman is a housewife first, Purchase Erispan, implying that she may or may not choose to disclose her other occupations.

While this ruling might have provided the petitioner with much relief and saved her the bother of re-applying for her passport, such a statement from a HC is fraught with danger for the Indian woman, order Erispan from United States pharmacy. On the one hand, Where can i buy Erispan online, it recognizes that housework is an occupation in itself but on the other, it presumes that a married woman is primarily a housewife, rendering her other occupations as secondary, Erispan price, coupon. Does this then suggest that men’s domestic roles are irrelevant, Order Erispan with No Prescription. And what of unmarried women who run households. Canada, mexico, india, As housework itself is not really valued, a statement like this unwittingly demeans women. Such presumption is indeed beyond the realm of law and comes from deeply held values which permeate the process of adjudication so subtly, order Erispan from mexican pharmacy, that it leaves us pondering where facts end and judicial perceptions and affinities begin. Comprar en línea Erispan, comprar Erispan baratos, After all, it is the very same argument about a woman’s domestic role that has been used to deny her education, income, real brand Erispan online, property, Erispan from canadian pharmacy, dignity and freedom of mobility for generations. Order Erispan with No Prescription, It is the same line of “reasoning” that has been used to justify dowry which in turn has led to much mental cruelty, domestic violence and female foeticide. Therefore, it is not a statement that can be taken lightly, buy no prescription Erispan online, in any context. Buying Erispan online over the counter, In an even more disconcerting judgment this week, a HC judge ruled that “a husband advising his wife to be more compatible with the family and take more interest in domestic chores” cannot be considered an act of cruelty. This, Erispan for sale, in a case where the woman committed suicide as she could not endure the “chiding”. Buy cheap Erispan no rx, Her suicide itself has been referred to by the court as “ a careless and unmotherly attitude”.

That such perceptions of women emerge in judicial decision-making is particularly disturbing, especially as they recur time and again, suggesting a institutionalized pattern, Order Erispan with No Prescription. A nationwide study by Sakshi conducted a decade ago revealed that judges carry leanings, sensitivities, purchase Erispan online, as well as prejudice and bias about women’s identities and roles. Where can i order Erispan without prescription, Through interviews of judges, lawyers, litigants and witnesses, where can i find Erispan online, as well as rigorous analysis of the texts of several judgments from five states (including Karnataka) the extent of judicial gender blindness came to light. Erispan gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, Husbands emerged as protectors and bread winners and wives as home makers in judges’ world views, with 79% of judges attributing this to Indian culture. With regard to domestic violence as well as sexual assault, buy generic Erispan, 64% of judges felt that women must share the blame for violence committed against them with 27% of judges attributing domestic violence to a wife’s provocation (husbands never provoke wives!) and 40% of judges attributing it to alcohol. Order Erispan with No Prescription, Only 27% of judges were able to see domestic violence as a result of unequal power relations in the family and 51% of judges felt that a slap to his wife by a husband on one occasion in the course of their marriage, does NOT amount to cruelty. Buy Erispan from canada, Such patriarchal values are not unique to the Indian justice system. Justice systems in Canada, Australia, where can i buy cheapest Erispan online, the US , Order Erispan online overnight delivery no prescription, UK and South Africa have made (and still make!) tremendous efforts to help judges address issues of gender, ethnicity and race that are deeply embedded in justice systems. The contributions of feminist legal theory, rx free Erispan, critical race theory, Online buy Erispan without a prescription, social movements, methodological advances in judicial behaviour research and training were substantial in all these efforts. Today, online buying Erispan hcl, there is documented evidence from various parts of the world to show how rigorous training has helped justice systems revisit courtroom language, Buy Erispan online cod, procedures, sentencing, adjudication and judgments, ordering Erispan online.

Back home, the Sakshi study led to a series of workshops for judges in collaboration with Judicial Academies and Legal Experts from Canada and the UK, Order Erispan with No Prescription. Judges from these countries shared how research and training have helped foreground the hidden forms of racism and sexism within justice systems itself, Online buy Erispan without a prescription, uncovering how “victims” of social attitudes are doubly penalized while accessing the courts. As a result of these joint deliberations, judges from South Asia slowly began to concede the need for such interventions here as well, where to buy Erispan.

We have come a long way since then. Canada, mexico, india, Gender training for judicial officers is no longer a shocking matter. Order Erispan with No Prescription, After the setting up of Judicial Academies in various states, the scope and potential for such training in India has increased manifold. Social movements working with women, dalits, Erispan from canadian pharmacy, the displaced, Comprar en línea Erispan, comprar Erispan baratos, sexual minorities, victims of genocide etc., have all engaged with the judiciary in diverse ways, Erispan over the counter. Judges too have ventured into judicial activism, Buy cheap Erispan no rx, championing causes from environmental protection to sexual harassment to the public distribution system to “questioning” of the legislature on constitutional matters.

Yet, judgments like these about a women’s identity or woman’s “unmotherly” suicide, buy no prescription Erispan online, are grim reminders that there is a long way to go. The cruel irony is that judges “know” what women endure and 63% of judges have even said that if they could imagine one more life, they would choose to be born men, not women. Dealing with values that operate insidiously is never easy and tackling such issues in an institution like the judiciary seems a forbidding task. But that can hardly be a deterrent, when the lives and dignity of half our populace is at stake.

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