unpaid care work

The authors of ,  “Women and invisible work”  (26.1.17) in the Hindu has correctly raised a question whether , there is any alternative or option for women to free themselves from,  “unpaid care work “ rendered at home with greater strain  but with dedication and love , keeping in mind only the welfare of the family. It  is true that, certain responsibilities such as food management ,child and elder care can be rendered better buy women , not because men are incapable of managing them but, for centuries together the patriarchal  Indian society has kept them as forbidden areas of entry for men  .

 The working  women are not demanding freedom from home management in the name of , “women empowerment “. But they do expect  recognition for their , “unpaid care work” and not demean it by describing it as “zero contribution “to national income . Don’t the economists understand that , this “unpaid care work “ rendered  women contributes indirectly to national income, through gifting to the nation , healthy. educated and skilled  youth through their toil through their caring food , health and  education management of their children ? Are not men  freed  from the financial burden of empowering their children through higher education and skill acquisition through  income contribution  by working women?  

 What the working women expect is the due  recognition to their double burden and its ill effects on their health . What the need is not” symbolic gestures”  but, supporting services such as  working from home and  flexi time opportunities, safer transportation and  baby care facilities by the employers and a division of home responsibilities among the family members .

jalli kattu

The Tamil media  and even the English media are  giving extensive coverage to the  youngster’s protest against the jalli kattu ban . The extensive live coverage by the electronic media of the happenings in various parts of Tamil Nadu, India and in other nations  . The media is also engaging the experts  to discuss the politics  and economics behind the jalli kattu ban and educating  the viewers on various aspects of Peta’s aggressive opposition against  Jalli kattu and why the well informed youngsters are committed and united to the cause of  jalli kattu . 

Now we learn that, the youngsters are not indifferent to the economic, social and political issues of the nation as we would like to blame them . It looks as though they were waiting for the   right time to rise in revolt with full vigor and vitality against the  repeated injustice done to Tamil Nadu in matters  regarding  sharing of water from the neighboring states, the delay in handing over of flood ,draught and cyclone compensation from the central government , the vigorous implementation of  the various  central government projects which are considered inimical to Tamil Nadu’s interest, not with standing the opposition from Tamil Nadu, the way the Koodankulam nuclear project  protestors were handled , failure of the central government in solving the repeated arrest of Tamil Nadu fisher men and the failure to retrieve  their costly  confiscated boats etc., Jalli Kattu ban seems to be the last straw on the camel’s back .

It looks as though the  central  government has very cleverly passed the buck to the Tamil Nadu government in making  it  passing the ordinance , knowing very well ,  that ,  it is sub judice to do so and it is not very clear whether it  can offer only temporary solution to the current problem and  in no time it can be challenged in the supreme court and  stayed . But the well informed youngsters can not be taken for granted and fooled easily. They may not allow the sacrifices  made by them in the last one week go a waste  and clever enough to understand the game plan of both the central and state governments .

The Tamil media  and even the English media are  giving extensive coverage to the  youngster’s protest against the jalli kattu ban . The extensive live coverage by the electronic media of the happenings in various parts of Tamil Nadu, India and in other nations  . The media is also engaging the experts  to discuss the politics  and economics behind the jalli kattu ban and educating  the viewers on various aspects of Peta’s aggressive opposition against  Jalli kattu and why the well informed youngsters are committed and united to the cause of  jalli kattu . 

Now we learn that, the youngsters are not indifferent to the economic, social and political issues of the nation as we would like to blame them . It looks as though they were waiting for the   right time to rise in revolt with full vigor and vitality against the  repeated injustice done to Tamil Nadu in matters  regarding  sharing of water from the neighboring states, the delay in handing over of flood ,drought and cyclone compensation from the central government , the vigorous implementation of  the various  central government projects which are considered inimical to Tamil Nadu’s interest, not with standing the opposition from Tamil Nadu, the way the Koodankulam nuclear project  protestors were handled , failure of the central government in solving the repeated arrest of Tamil Nadu fisher men and the failure to retrieve  their costly  confiscated boats etc., Jalli Kattu ban seems to be the last straw on the camel’s back .

It looks as though the  central  government has very cleverly passed the buck to the Tamil Nadu government in making  it  passing the ordinance , knowing very well ,  that ,  it is subjudice to do so and it is not very clear whether it  can offer only temporary solution to the current problem and  in no time it can be challenged in the supreme court and  stayed . But the well informed youngsters can not be taken for granted and fooled easily. They may not allow the sacrifices  made by them in the last one week go a waste  and clever enough to understand the game plan of both the central and state governments .

sexual violence against women

My letter published in The Hindu on 12.01.16

The sexual assault on women and objectification of women are not the result of sudden moral degradation of men of the 21^st century . They are centuries  old problems prevailing in India.   What has changed is the attitude and  sensitivity  of women  of  recent decades towards continued sexual violence on them in different forms within homes and in public places . Now the "suffering and bearing in silence" attitude of the previous decade's women towards sexual assaults has disappeared . It includes even  the uneducated and rural women. The  empowered women to day are aware of their rights to live with  dignity,  provisions  of the women protection laws and have the support of the media, NGOS and parents to expose the culprits . Hence ,what has changed is the number of reported cases and wide publicity given . The mind set towards women body is the same , whether they are in drunken or  in non drunken condition . The solution lies not in making few more new laws  but, in the type of upbringing the boys have at home, imparting of moral values at school level , a sensitised police force , quick justice delivery system and strict  control over the movie makers who portray women  characters as sex objects and brainless  gender who will bear all sorts assault on their dignity and character.

demonetisation

There are  variety of opinions on demonetisation . According to me the main inconvenience is our inability to draw from our own money kept with full confidence  in bank accounts of various types. We need cash for variety of purposes and some of them are very urgent and can be met with hard cash alone .  It is very annoying to go to the banks several times and spend considerable time in the queue and able to draw inadequate money to meet our needs . Even those with comfortable savings deposited with banks were reduced to penniless position overnight and this position is dragging . How long this situation will continue we do not know. The December 31^st deadline for ending the  discomforts  of the account holders doesn’t seem  to be an achievable promise. The image and the credibility of the banking system is very severely damaged . Hereafter, People will   keep lot of money at home out of psychological distress created by the present situation  and will open many accounts for the family to escape from such wretched experience . It is easy for those  living in all types comforts and facilities to preach through media , to exercise  tolerance of hardships  for some more time in national interest. I would like to ask these VVIPS, “ what type of hardships they suffered due to demonetisation in national interest”?