Sister Cooks While Brother Plays: Video Shows How Patriarchy Starts Early

Why are the aspirations of young girls treated so differently from those of young boys? Why are girls prepared for housework from an early age and boys are allowed to spend their childhood playing and studying?

This video from Uttar Pradesh highlights this divide clearly.

While 11-year-old Khushboo starts her day at 5 am, her 8-year-old brother leads a comparatively free existence. Every day she cooks, cleans and takes care of her younger siblings before going to school, and has a host of tasks in the evening which leaves her with no spare time to play. But the boy’s day is divided only into school time and play time. Khushboo’s aspiration of becoming a qualified doctor is exactly the same as that of her brother. But are we giving her even close to a fighting chance?

Unless we are able to transform our private spaces to more gender equal ones, we can never end sexism and discrimination in public arenas.