Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

The other side

The article “Stay-at-home mom” (Open Page, Jan. 31) by Seema Kini has prompted me to write this. The article does injustice to a lot of women who juggle their home and career without neglecting either. It is not as if staying at home is the only way for women to be happy. Ms Kini also assumes that many women have the luxury of quitting their job. What about women who work for financial reasons? And who find satisfaction and fulfilment in their careers? It has become common to berate women for pursuing a career, as pursuing a career seems to imply that children are neglected. It is time we as a society changed our attitude towards working women. It is also time to acknowledge the good job they do — of managing their career and home.

Kausar Shaik,

Hyderabad

It is the proverbial catch-22 situation educated women find themselves in today, when there is a debate on home-versus-double income. The answer to this perhaps lies in the middle path. Let women work — for not only extra income but also self-esteem — but let them find the good sense to divide their time and effort. Staying at home does not necessarily ensure the whole-hearted participation of a woman in her children’s affairs. I am a practising medico but I find a way to juggle my schedule in such a manner that neither my patient nor my family misses me.

Anuradha Khanna,

Haryana

The ease with which a woman advising her friend not to have a baby soon after marriage was converted into an anti-feminist tirade is shocking. Feminism is a whole lot of things to a whole lot of people. It is the right to vote for all of us. It is the protection against being thrown out by an abusive husband. For my mother, it is the freedom to be on the move, drive on her own. For a student like me, it is the freedom to study. For my friend, who just might be the person in the coffee shop, it is the right to decide to have a child or not. For Ms. Kini, it is the right to decide to stay at home and look after her son.

One kind of experience alone is not ‘being’ a woman. From the title onwards, the article seems to convey a narrow definition of ‘woman’ — one that is unquestioning of received notions.

Sruthi Herbert,

Thiruvananthapuram

I am a Sri Lankan working in the Department of Animal Production & Health, pursuing research in India. I found the article interesting. But the opinion expressed in it cannot be generalised. The issue is not exact science and therefore there can be no definite conclusion. We cannot assume the conditions to be constant.

Talata C. Ratnayake,

Karnal

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