It is safe to say that life has changed drastically over the last two years since the emergence of the Covid-19 virus. One of the biggest changes was people working from home given the lockdowns and restrictions imposed during the time. It was seen that working women had to do a lot of adjustments and adaptations while balancing their personal and professional lives with the swift changing reality.
In a conversation with Dhaka Tribune on the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8, these women expressed mixed reactions to the situation. With the country finally heading towards a new normal, most are happy to return to their workplaces.
The initial confusion and stress gave way to psychological pressure for the health and wellbeing of their family members while balancing the ever-challenging workplaces.
Their workload increased on one hand while on the other the recognition of their hardship lessened during the time. But they still managed to cope with all odds amid facing all gendered impacts.
Salma Sultana, communications program manager at the Bangladesh chapter of Winrock International. says that while they both worked from office, her husband treated her as an equal.
“But he became a male after returning, meaning he did all his personal work but not domestic chores. At the same time, I first do all my work for my family and only then feel like being myself,” she told Dhaka Tribune.
“The age-old cultural perception that we are bearing has unconsciously pushed us into doing so. This is the reason they would never understand what the office environment meant for us,” she added.
Rebeka Sultana, an assistant teacher at a private school in Mohammadpur expressed similar thoughts, saying that her daughter who is a little over three years old, never interrupts her father during his office meetings but never understands when it’s her turn.
Rebeka says that even her mother was not understanding, asking unimportant questions during online classes.
“Rearing a toddler and taking classes online and offline is never an easy task, especially when you do not have any helping hand at home,” she said.
However, Joyeeta Roy, a photographer at a national daily, feels lucky as she did not have to worry about household chores on account of her parents being home.
“But I was worried about their health as they are elderly people and are highly vulnerable to the disease. Again, I mostly have assignments at covid hospitals, so I kept my distance from them in the house,” she added.
Mixed feeling on new normal
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Gender Statistics 2018, women did on average 3.43 times as much unpaid care work as men.
The closure of schools and having everyone stay at home has increased the amount of unpaid care work that has to be provided by women even more.
Covid-19 Bangladesh Rapid Gender Analysis by UN Women in collaboration with BRAC’s Gender, Diversity, and Justice program found that among 91% of the women interviewed reported having to do higher amounts of unpaid care work during the pandemic period, and 89% reported having no leisure time at all.
Adapting to these changes are never easy and women had to do it thrice during two years from going full online, then adopting a roster and finally going offline or resuming offices, said Salma Sultana.
She added that while the initial days of home office were confusing, the traffic on the road makes home office seem like a superior option despite the added workload.
Photographer Joyeeta Roy said: “At first seeing the natural changes delighted me but very soon we got exhausted seeing the blank roads. Jam-packed, lively roads are more acceptable to us.”
From the experience of the last two years, Salma Sultana said that the new normal is more acceptable to women to prove their ability and to gain work recognition.
Dr Ayesha Akter, who has worked as the head of the control room under the health directorate and is now working as the assistant director at the 250-bed TB Hospital in the capital, agreed with her.
She says while family does come first, profession cannot be ignored either as it gives a woman her own identity in society.
