Bhubaneswar: After years of Independence, the one person we tend to take for granted is a homemaker without whom there could have been no family, no community and no nation.
A homemaker, quiet in her abode at home, works without any pay or leave. She works most of the time for the joy of it. We spoke to some homemakers in Bhubaneswar about what Independence Day and freedom means to them. Here’s what they said:
Pragyan Paramita
As a homemaker, I never felt that I have been burdened with restrictions or the boundaries of households. I believe that no one could have forced this on me if I didn’t choose it myself. Freedom is subjective and varies from person to person. So, I cannot comment on a generalised idea of freedom. However, I never felt that I live in captivity or a cage of forced responsibilities. I am happy being a homemaker and that status, in particular, has never brought me stress.
Mamata Mishra
Independence Day barely means anything to me or women like me. Our work is never-ending. I have to do all the household chores every day. Anyway, I feel it would mean something to me when every middle-class lady will be able to walk on the streets fearlessly and as long as this government supporting the upper class remains, there can be no independence.
Bidyulata Pani
For me, Independence Day is a day of pride and pleasure. We all must realize the sacrifices of our freedom fighters. I, as a mother and homemaker, have always tried my best to instill a sense of respect towards the nation in my children. If we are breathing freely today, it is because of all the people who laid their lives for us. When I read about Binayak Damodar who spent 16 years in Andaman Nicobar islands, tears well up in my eyes. Homemakers, however, do have desires and dreams. If rules are forced on us, how are we going to live? We need rights and freedom in all spheres of life.
Sudha
We homemakers don’t have any independence in the true sense of the word. Any decision we take is always based on several household constraints. Financial and mental independence is extremely desirable but we never get that in real life. There is no freedom to take leave or decisions. All our life, we slog for others and their happiness.
Kanchan Mishra
Honestly, we homemakers are never free. It means nothing to me. Especially ones like me with no proper education because before our marriage, we live under the fear of our father. After marriage, it’s our husband and children. We never have a life of our own where we can take independent decisions and do little something for ourselves. I wanted to work but got married. Since then, I am caged as a homemaker fulfilling the desires of others and completing the duties forced on me by the society.
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