‘Save a Home’ campaign is to highlight an anomaly in the system which does not accept any work done in a home as work. Work is accepted as work only when done for money. This rule makes a Home redundant as nobody does anything for money in a home.
But, is work done in a Home not work?
Ironically, all the work we do in a home goes out to become business and would be accepted as work. Cooking was first done in a home before it became a business. Laundry was first done in a home before it became a multi-million-dollar industry. So is for all other work.
Apart from all the tangible elements seen, there is an intangible element of love, bonding, teamwork, sacrifice, leadership, values, beliefs, and skill-building which is also present in a home. A child is built from infant to adult and his soft and hard skills together with values, communication, and many other skills are inculcated.
A person who is shouldering the responsibility of a home could be anybody- a man or a woman and they are referred with the name of homemakers, housewives, or househusband. The perception of the society of a homemaker is very poor. But who is a homemaker? A homemaker is just the role we play in a home of mother, father, brother, sister, child, grandparents, husband, wife, in-laws, etc. We all are homemakers first and then we become professionals.
The system accepts only the role of professionals. This is because we have defined and accepted work when done for money. So here the person doing the job does not get the credit but the same would be converted for money before being accepted as work. This rule robs the people of the right to do their own work. It means I as a mother will not get credit/ recognition for the work I do for my own kid or any work in my home. I will need to look for a maid to do that work. If I do the same work for my neighbour for money it will be accepted as work and I cannot do my own work.
To highlight and protest the anomaly in the system we are having our first discussion on – What makes a Home?
- A physical space made up of bricks?
- 3 meals – breakfast, lunch or dinner?
- Laundry, Clean floor, windows, cupboards?
- A mother and a father? A Homemaker?
- Leadership, teamwork, bonding?
- Skill building, EQ, Soft skills?
Put on your thinking cap to join the discussion on a home on 10th April 2022 on Sunday 4-5 PM on Mona Mehra’s Facebook Page. The link is https://www.facebook.com/mona.mehra.161/.
For more details log on to www.monamehra.com
Mona Mehra is an activist, a work-home integrator, and a risk management professional. She integrates home to a workplace to show the similarity of operations. Growing up she felt the pain of the womenfolk who were so disrespected as mothers and wives that she decided to find the reason why. Her mission became to change the perspective of home and homemakers.