Being a woman, I can say that it is not easy – especially with the zillion roles we play in our everyday life. Whether it is handling the household or the office – we do it all without complaining. However, after doing all of this, it still isn’t enough and we still have to hear people taunt us about how we are not doing our job properly. I mean, take the instance of this Kerala IAS officer who was holding her son at a public function while giving a speech. This simple incident sparked a debate on social media where people criticized her for bringing her son to a work function.
Pathanamthitta district Collector Divya S Iyer brought her three-and-a-half-year-old son to a valedictory ceremony of a private film festival in Kerala. She also gave a speech while holding her son in her arms. No sooner did the video of her with her son go viral, people started a debate about whether this was professional.
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On October 30, after the three-day event in Kerala, Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly, Chittayam Gopakumar, who was one of the organizers of the sixth International Film Festival of Adoor, shared the video of IAS officer giving a speech while holding her son.
As per reports, while there were people criticizing the IAS officer for ‘propriety’, there were many others who came out in her support including her husband. The ones supporting her said that a woman plays multiple roles and that they have the right to have their moments with their children.
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In all honesty, I agree. I mean, there are many corporate offices that have a take-your-baby-to-work day, so why not government officers? And the worst part is that when a woman leaves her child to go to the office, people taunt her saying she is more focused on her career than her family, but when that same woman tries to find a balance between her personal and professional life – she is still taunted. Is there any way that a woman can win?