Presence of women in fields, raising grains, filling the country’s food basket from the stage of sowing to the stage of moving the harvested mass rid of the inedible dockage for stocking before turning it to a commodity in the land’s commerce appears to have been taken for granted. The home-maker’s untiring inputs in keeping the hearth glowing, cooking food, raw materials for producing tasty dishes, bearing children and caring for them, and to state briefly, play the role of a friend, philosopher and manager of the family’s chief wage-earner also seem to have been taken for granted in society. Routine chores shouldered by the housewife from dawn to dusk, both as a duty and a responsibility, marked by love of the work and commitment, are said to become visible and get noticed only when she takes off, even for a day, if not for a few hours of the day. The virtual monetary value of the outcome of her work is well-nigh incalculable.

The extent of sweat and toil that go with the life of the rural housewife, both in the field and ill-ventilated dwellings has just been bestowed attention by the government given the provision of gas stoves and LPG to rural families across the country, while their urban counterparts are voicing their need for other inadequacies such as safety at work place, privacy, amenities and so on.

Enacting laws relating to safety of the females outside the boundary of their homes and implementing those laws without let up are different kettles of fish. Even stray incidents of violating the laws, including the unstoppable episodes of snatching gold chains from unwary women in the streets, don’t portray the male sections of society in good light. The plight of women in the country’s labour force working in unorganised sectors such as building construction, road-laying, domestic help and so on leaves much to be desired, particularly the sections that have neither a roof over their heads nor the basic facilities of a toilet.

The point made in a recent article in The Economist that if India’s women were to work towards rebalancing its work force, the country would be 27 percent richer. Childcare and post-marriage responsibilities of the home-makers who take up jobs in offices and industrial establishments merit provision of creches and toilets during working hours as substantial help in raising their productivity.