Educated Woman: Should She be a Housewife or a Working Woman?

By Megha Acharya

• The definition of 'Independent women' is always weighed with the money she earns.
• Societies see bread earners as the ones who run the family.
• This societal taboo disrespects the woman's choice.

People are of the opinion that an educated woman limiting herself as a housewife is "squandering" her qualification. Women often hear, "what's the use of studying, if you have to become a housewife". The choice of staying at home or going to work is completely a personal decision. Both sexes pertain the right to take decisions of their lives.

It's not necessary that the option to stay at home is always imposed on women, some may opt to become a housewife. The 'taboo' of a woman wasting her degree by sitting at home, relegates the choice made by her. Women education is questioned, if they decide being independent by not spending eight hours outside of their homes.

The work profile of a housewife gets restricted to the domestic drudgery in many societies. Had home-making been doing just the domestic chores, then why do working mothers prefer leaving their kids with English-speaking maids or send them to creches, where their baby is under the guidance of educated people. Why do they not randomly pick someone?

An educated woman can make better decisions in home-making. The quality of life of the family would be better in terms of nutrition, cleanliness, health and stress when the person devotes a lot of her time at home. From choosing the right kind of household items to childcare, her qualifications would play a huge role. Young minds benefit from interactions with an educated person. The housewife's qualifications would help her decide the kind of school her child would fit in, the kind of environment is required for his/her growth, and most importantly the lessons and values to be given to her children.

The contribution made by a housewife gets quantified with money. She is asked, "Do you not feel ashamed while asking for money from your husband?". Does the woman's time, effort and sweat in cleaning and maintaining the house, not anything? The definition of 'Independent woman' is often misconstrued. The self-earned cash is an important sign of freedom, however, being independent is only weighed with earning money. People fail to understand that, a lady taking the onus of the whole family, making wiser decisions for the well-being of its members qualifies to "being independent".

Also Read: Working Mothers Can Now Balance Work and Family with These Hacks.

The relationship between a husband and a wife is mutually dependent. Both are reliant on each other for physical and mental support. If a lady homemaker needs money from her husband, then the latter needs cooked food, ironed clothes, clean house and good parenting for his child.

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Working parents juggle the responsibilities of home and work, which makes them stressed. In such situations, some choose to be the multitasker, while some want to stay at home. Every individual chooses the best for themselves. Rather than judging them, we should respect their decision and show some compassion. Women education never gets wasted if, they willingly decided to take part in the selection of household items. And, we must never forget that education passes on wisdom, and wise decisions always succeed

Megha can be reached at Twitter @ImMeghaacharya

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