‘83% women feel that men don’t see them as equal when it comes to housework’

R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, MARCH 25

Seventy-three percent men agreed that they did their share of household chores when they were staying with other men or roommates, but back away when living with their wives, while 80% women believe their partners know how to do household tasks but choose not to do them. 83% women felt that men don’t see women as equal when it comes to housework, says a survey.

Aiming to change this, the Procter & Gamble’s ‘Ariel’ has launched a novel campaign for gender equality SEE EQUALS – #ShareTheLoad in Chennai on Thursday.

Actors Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Big Boss fame Ciby Bhuvana Chandra jointly raise a question – ‘if men can ShareTheLoad with other men, why not with their life partners?’

Celebrities Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Big Boss fame Ciby Bhuvana Chandra jointly launched the SEE EQUALS – #ShareTheLoad campaign in an interactive mode.

Ariel India has been steering the conversations around gender equality at home since 2015 through their award-winning movement #ShareTheLoad and is urging men to be equal partners playing Equal roles. Because when we see equal, we #ShareTheLoad.

Interacting with media, both of them highlighted the need to break the chain of gender inequality at home while urging all men to equally share household chores with their life partners.

Both of them supported the conversation Ariel has been driving, that if men can share the load equally with other men, why are they not doing it with their wives?

During the conversation, a fun-filled and light-hearted event that aimed to bring forth conversations, the stars undertook the ‘ShareTheLoad’ challenge that demonstrated that they can easily take up chores and have fun doing it with each other.

The duo launched the Ariel limited-edition Name-Change packs, customized with their own names. These special packs are customized with some of the most common male-names of the country. The pack can either be given to those men who are already leading by example and taking up joint responsibility of chores, or it can be brought into households where it can become a conversation starter to pave the way for more equal division of household chores.

These packs also take the conversation forward, that was started by comedian Anu Menon aka Lola Kutty where she suggested to change her name from Anu to Anil, her husband’s best friend’s name, in an attempt to create awareness and get men to see her and all women as equals. And when women are seen as equals, the path is instinctively created for more equal division of household chores.

Gender should not define how we divide our duties at home. Household chores are both a man’s and a woman’s responsibility and should be shared equally. Because a true partnership works when we #ShareTheLoad.#SeeEqual #ShareTheLoad pic.twitter.com/SVHI5mxX7d

— Ariel India (@ArielIndia) March 22, 2022

Shanthanu Bhagyaraj said, “When staying in hostels or growing up with brothers, it’s a given to divide chores with other men. So why would this be any different with their wives? That’s why I have always taken initiative to divide the chores with my life partner, because for me we both are equals. This is a cause that is close to my heart and I am glad to be associated with a brand like Ariel that is advocating against inequality within households for last 7 years with #ShareTheLoad. Let’s break the stereotypes and take up our share of chores, so that we are taking equal responsibility of our homes!”

Commenting on this Ciby Bhuvana Chandra said , “I am glad Ariel is seriously taking up the issue of gender inequality at home. A brand that truly believes in social change will not stop at just a film or one year. I am also happy to join them and spread the message further. Whether it is the thought-provoking film, the attention-grabbing satirical take by Anu Menon, or the innovative customized packs, all of them truly make us question our own biases – why are we so comfortable in sharing the responsibility of chores with other men but not with our partners? Let’s ensure we don’t let the spark die, instead we can challenge our own thinking and see women as our equals. Because when we #SeeEqual, we #ShareTheLoad.”