A woman performs multiple roles in her life. She is a faithful daughter, caring mother, loving wife, and a sweet sister. The most part of her life goes in taking care of the needs of her male counterparts. From cooking meals and doing every household work to raising her children and maintaining relations, she does everything but still does not receive appreciation for working round the clock. She works without any vacation or holiday but still the people she cares for do not an attitude of gratitude towards her. No one tells her to take rest; even in illness she gets up with a smile on her face and does every work for her husband, children, and other members of family.
Despite doing every work, she is called a non-working woman. It is my question to dear gentlemen, what their definition of work is? Isn’t what a woman does from preparing breakfast to serving dinner work? Or just because she does not get paid for her work, it does not count? Let me tell you, her work is her worship. It is selfless. She doesn’t work for any salary, promotion or bonus or fame. Her job is even more difficult than any professional work. Every office closes at some time and has some off days but her job has no closing time and no off day. A woman can never be “non-working”.
If we are served a delicious dish, how many of us say, mom you have really done a wonderful job, thanks a lot. How many husbands say, dear wife, thank you for the dish, and how many in-laws say, dear daughter-in-law, thanks for this delicious dish, stay blessed. Rather, if some day there is some slight shortcoming in the dish, complaints start coming from every corner of the dining table. The salt is too much, or aroma is missing; texture is not that good, who will eat this tasteless food? We don’t realise after how much hard work and bearing the heat of the stove, the mother/ sister/wife has prepared the dish. Our society is highly men-centric and always inconsiderate to the plight of the women who work at home tirelessly and without a break.
Despite doing everything from cooking, dusting, washing clothes to organising things and fulfilling demands of other family members, she receive the snide comment: “what do you do for the whole day at home?”. Men boast of how much work they do in the office, but when a woman returns from work, they start yelling: why are you taking so much time to serve tea? And yet she bears every rudeness and tantrum silently. Professionally working women work both in office and at home, but their male counterparts don’t cooperate. They don’t share responsibilities. If there is a PTM (parent-teacher meet), usually the mother misses her work to attend. How many husbands help their wives in household responsibilities? Only a few. Why? Doesn’t home belong to both of them? When our prophet Mohammad (PBUH) can help his wives, why can’t men of our society too?
Celebrating 8th March as Women’s Day and sharing Women’s Day wishes is not going to work. Women should be given love, care, appreciation and respect for what they do for the whole year. They need their opinions to be valued and to be given a say in decision-making on affairs related to them and their children. Every family member should join hands with them and be considerate to them.
Take a pledge to respect women, dear men. Appreciate women and reciprocate their love, care and affection. Be there for them when they need you, just like they are always there for you.

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Bisma Farooq Sheikh