There are so many superwomen out there whose super feats go unacknowledged that I felt the need to write this article. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that this has been the biggest trap many women have fallen into in recent times. Let me clear the ambiguity and specify what I am talking about.

 

There are innumerable women in our times who juggle a career, home, children and the various other chores that go with managing a house. Do you belong to this category? Are you exhausted at the end of the day shuttling between these diverse activities without any significant help from your partner or other family members? If you are, then most probably you are a victimized superwoman who is struggling, yet receives scant recognition for all the work that she does.

 

I have seen so many friends who are into great professions and have a hectic schedule but are still expected to be perfect wives and mothers that it drives me crazy. What is even more frustrating is that most of these friends have unquestioningly accepted these twisted rules and follow it at the expense of their health and mental peace. If they do not do so, they are made to feel guilty and inadequate. Comparisons are brought forth about how so and so are so adept at multi-tasking and how one should try to emulate them.

 

While this is going on at one end, what does the ‘darling husband’ do at the other end? In seven out of ten cases, he just sits and watches television expecting to be served by his superwoman wife. If his parents stay with the family, they try and see to it that he is smothered with attention and gets all the rest that he needs while the slave in the family works her butt out. Even if he does assist with some chores, the mother throws meaningful glances at the bahu and chants the mantra of ‘ bechara thak gaya hoga’.

 

In this scenario, would you call the modern professionally successful woman independent and happy? Isn’t her status equal to that of a glorified slave? I am sure this is one of the reasons that divorce rates are going up.

 

Let me clarify here that not every man lets his wife slip into the role of a superwoman. There are many men out there who are supportive and understanding and contribute equally in the running of the household. They truly love their partners and believe in the concept of behaving like a unit rather than taking advantage of their wives. Watching these guys accept the change in societal roles is truly great and you really respect them. The sad thing is that they are in the minority.

 

You also find women who stand up for themselves and see to it that they are not exploited by their families at the cost of being labeled ‘dominating and aggressive’. In either case, she ends up being the loser. So, what is it that we can do to change the situation?

 

Well, for one, women have to think for themselves and voice their opinions. Communicating their feelings is the first step in the process. Men, on the other hand, have to realize that they have to change with the changing times. Clinging onto old behavioral patterns will only damage them and their chances of having a healthy and happy relationship with their spouses. I think the media should also stop churning out regressive images of the superwoman multi-tasking as if it were ingrained genetically in her. Wake up people, it is not a ‘baaye haath ka khel’ scenario for her. So stop victimizing the woman in your life by giving her the title of ‘Superwoman’.