She Is Unwell But Everyone Is Only Worried About What Her Family Will Eat!

Women are expected to be nurturing, and their role as caregivers is taken for granted, by everyone. What happens when the caregiver falls ill?

Poorva was burning with fever since morning and couldn’t get up from the bed. She had splitting headache and a bad body ache. It was 7 in the morning and she knew she was not in a condition to get up and do anything.

She woke up her husband Avinash and in a faint voice said, “Please take leave from the office today. I am having fever and not in a condition to do anything today.”

Poorva had tears in her eyes. Avinash once didn’t touch her, comfort her, or give her tea, or any medicine for the fever.

Later in the morning, when her mother called her up, Poorva told her mother that she had fever. Poorva’s mother’s first question was, “What are Avinash and the kids going to eat today? It must be so difficult for poor Avinash to manage everything on his own.”

Soon after this, her mother-in-law called Avinash, and when Avinash told her that Poorva had fever and that he had to take a leave, she said, “My beta, how will you manage house work, cooking and kids?” Not once did she ask him to take care of Poorva, or how she was doing.

Ghar ghar ki kahani

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Whenever I have left my husband and children and gone out for an event or attend to my sick parents, everyone has asked me the same question, “How are the kids and husband going to manage? What are they going to eat?”

My reply always has been, “What if I die today? Even then, they will manage, isn’t it?”

A woman till the end of her life is required to cook and feed the family, no matter what. The over-hyped “Maa ke haath ka khaana”, the picture of the sick mother/ wife/ daughter-in-law cooking has been done to death.

When a woman falls sick, just ask her how’s she doing? The family should take care of the sick woman without any grumpy mood, without any question, or without making her feel that they are doing her a favour. The woman who takes care of you, cooks for you, and raises your kids shouldn’t be neglected.

Here a woman is sick, is tired, is getting old, and all she gets asked is, “What will the family eat?”

Just stop…!

Image source: a still from the short film Ghar ki Murgi

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