A successful career: Another feather in a woman's hat or an iceberg in her head?

In this information age, career women are reckoned as empowered women. Is all that needed to empower an Indian woman, in particular, the present day Indian woman a lucrative career alone? If at all, Indian women are empowered, have they benefited out of that empowerment? A valid answer for this question calls for an iota of comparison with their old generation counterparts. Often our grandmothers have regaled us with the stories of how they managed the kitchen and served a room full of guests.As a result, we have imbibed the thought that the be-all- and- end-all of their marriage was serving their husbands, their relatives and children. It leaves us with the idea that our grand mothers were docile, dependant and ignorant and our grandfathers enjoyed the power and authority. But don't you think that there was a clear division of labor?

In the domestic front, women were the undisputed authorities. They had given a free hand in the home management, which called for independent decision making, planning and implementation. On the other hand, the onus to win the bread for the family was solely on the men. Men need not worry about the shortage of salt or sugar in the kitchen and that also meant that women need not worry about an impromptu medical expense in the family or the increasing interest rates for the color television that they had purchased.

But of late, women have evolved as major financial contributors for their families from being mere dependants. They have widened their repertoire of skills.Has the scene changed? Not absolutely. Even today the onus of domestic management is on the woman. Men hardly extend a helping hand for household chores in many houses. Even if some men try their hands on the domestic chores, women are still reckoned as the kitchen supremo. In many houses, where women shoulder most of the so-called "responsibilities of men”, still have to juggle their domestic and official activities. There is absolutely no support from men on the domestic front.

Is there any acceptable raison-d’-ềtre for the lack of domestic help from men? The answer is no. Men still think that cleaning and kitchen jobs are reserved for women and are repelled by the thought that they would be labeled as " docile" by assisting women in these activities .If some are sticking to these Adam day's rules , some men lack the motivation for helping their better-halves. But what they have forgotten to bear in their mind is that if the so-called kitchen jobs are women jobs, then earning for the family is also the job of men. They should not expect any support from women on the financial front. But that will not fit the bill of the present generation which dreams to lead life in king size, and which has to cope up with the soaring cost of living .So ultimately adding career as a feather to the women's hat or keeping it as a stone in their heads is in the hands of men. The word “empowerment” is very misleading and it only adds up to the worries and tensions of women. If we call the present day women who juggle many roles and who are hard pressed for time even to breath as empowered women, I would rather stay underpowered than empowered? What about you?