Traditional desi communities have always focused on a woman’s domain being the home – it is where everything begins and ends for her with her sole responsibilities being raising her children, catering to her husband’s needs and being a housewife. However, changing times have resulted in stronger and independent women taking a stand for themselves when it comes to working outside of their homes and getting employed in top-notch organizations. Most South Asian women have snubbed the age-old gender stereotypes and proven to themselves and to those around them as to what it means to be career-oriented while managing household tasks at the same time. Afterall, women are known to be the best multitaskers! This brings us to Pakistani actor Ushna Shah and her recent tweets in light of the subject.
“How do you balance married life (& all the responsibilities it entails for women in Pakistan) and a full time career”? .. a question many women are often offended by (which is understandable). But many of us genuinely want to know (from those who manage to do it and ace it) HOW?
— Ushna Shah (@ushnashah) August 24, 2020
By being on our toes all the time. By having little to no time to ourselves. By hoping for the best support group possible. By multiple days where you run to the bathroom to just hear yourself think. pic.twitter.com/2EPdDuNeP3
— Mahwash Ajaz (@mahwashajaz_) August 24, 2020
And I don’t think we should be offended by this question. It’s an actual real struggle and women should be sharing advice with each other on how to cope with these real challenges instead of being offended by the question.
— Mahwash Ajaz (@mahwashajaz_) August 24, 2020
Yes but twitter can be a vile place filled with enraged netizens searching for a drop in a tweet that may give them a chance to be offended, then they unleash fury. Must word carefully. I’ve learnt by now. (Phew)
— Ushna Shah (@ushnashah) August 24, 2020
The actor recently took to Twitter and posted a question out of sheer curiosity. Her post read, “How do you balance married life (& all the responsibilities it entails for women in Pakistan) and a full-time career”? A question many women are often offended by (which is understandable). But many of us genuinely want to know (from those who manage to do it and ace it) HOW?” Adding to her tweet, many users came forward with their experiences. Women from different walks of life shared their opinions on the topic. Posting a Gif which reads, “Being a mother is an impossible job to win,” Dubai-based Pakistani journalist Mahwash Ajaz wrote, “By being on our toes all the time. By having little to no time to ourselves. By hoping for the best support group possible. By multiple days where you run to the bathroom to just hear yourself think.” She added, “And I don’t think we should be offended by this question. It’s an actual real struggle and women should be sharing advice with each other on how to cope with these real challenges instead of being offended by the question.” While Ushna respected Mahwash’s reply, she responded with, “Yes but twitter can be a vile place filled with enraged netizens searching for a drop in a tweet that may give them a chance to be offended, then they unleash fury. Must word carefully. I’ve learnt by now. (Phew).”
It takes time and patience and the will to make both your career and your marriage work. No one can ace it overnight. But elements that help are marrying someone supportive, having little interference from in-laws and parents. Financial stability. Etc
— AHI (@aamnaisani) August 24, 2020
Really good question. The answer is balance & a supportive,secure partner,*supportive* is key here.
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) August 24, 2020
You just cannot do it without the support of your other half he has to be supportive or else you end up quitting. I am blessed ?????????. Full time Psychologist, Mom & Wife.
— Hiraaa (@Hiraaa_rana) August 24, 2020
It becomes easy if you have a life partner that supports you and understands your career needs too. Mostly women do sacrifice their careers not too happily which eventually affects personal life. Its better to have a partner and have a word with him before marriage
— Nayab (@insiderebellion) August 24, 2020
I've seen so many females who either compromise with quality of work at the workplace or either compromise with their family life. It's nearly impossible to manage a right balance between personal and professional life. It all depends on priorities.
— Aliza Basharat (@alizabasharat48) August 24, 2020
http://thebrownidentity.com/2020/08/24/pakistani-star-imran-ashraf-awan-requests-instagram-fans-to-pray-for-his-mothers-health/
Multiple other women also added to the conversation. Aamna Isani penned, “It takes time and patience and the will to make both your career and your marriage work. No one can ace it overnight. But elements that help are marrying someone supportive, having little interference from in-laws and parents. Financial stability. Etc.” Celebrity Zara Noor Abbas lauded Ushna for bringing such a discussion to the table. She commented, “Really good question. The answer is balance & a supportive, secure partner, *supportive* is key here.” A full-time psychologist, mother and wife, posted, “You just cannot do it without the support of your other half he has to be supportive or else you end up quitting. I am blessed Alhamdulillah.” Most women agreed that it is important to have a supportive spouse, one who is by your side through thick and thin. “It becomes easy if you have a life partner that supports you and understands your career needs too. Mostly women do sacrifice their careers not too happily which eventually affects personal life. It is better to have a partner and have a word with him before marriage,” shared another user. Some, however, begged to differ. One post that popped up in the comments section was, “I’ve seen so many females who either compromise with quality of work at the workplace or either compromise with their family life. It’s nearly impossible to manage a right balance between personal and professional life. It all depends on priorities.”