Our moms, sisters or wives usually wake up earlier than the rest of the family to pack everyone’s tiffin’s, organise the house and do the laundry. This is something that is considered very normal to most Indians. It’s a fact that women in India still do the majority of housework, and @ariel.india discovers that chores are keeping women from getting enough sleep and rest.
Ariel India’s #ShareTheLoad campaign has been championing the cause of equal sharing of housework and chores amongst all adults of the house, including men so that it’s not just one person bearing the load. A survey conducted by an independent third-party revealed that 71%* women in India sleep less than their husbands due to household chores. This has a deep impact on their health and well-being too.
Ariel India’s Share the Load Campaign.
Women in India sleep less due to household chores so we must #Sharetheload.
We’ve come a long way in gender equality but in some ways, we’re still stuck to old gender stereotypes of housework solely being a woman’s job. This can be seen in everyday life where women spend unaccounted hours finishing housework in spite of having full-time jobs.
I was moved by Ariel’s beautiful TVC highlighting the impact of unequal division on women’s sleep patterns and the importance of #ShareTheLoad #ShareTheLaundry
This film revolves around a deprived mom and shows a little girl missing her mother while asleep. Out of pure exhaustion, the mother falls asleep by the washing machine and is discovered by the father-daughter duo. The husband then takes on the laundry and asks her to rest, thereby showing the start of shouldering responsibilities in the household. It urges men to lend a hand with daily chores to support and give their wives and sisters and daughters the rest they deserve. The message is simple but very loud and clear.
Here’s a link to the TVC if you haven’t watched it yet.
Most men agree that doing laundry is not a tall task, and they can #ShareTheLaundry at home to give women more time for themselves. If such small changes are brought about it would ensure that a family works together, and rests together thereby increasing the general well-being of everyone in the household.
Just like charity, change also starts at home. So, let’s all come together to stand by Ariel India’s progressive cause and be a facilitator of change by Sharing the Laundry in our own households.