Men and machines

Women in homes and the fields usually do the hardest, most labour-consuming work, yet mechanisation rarely helps even the most sophisticated among them. Driving home this point, Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva (pictured), who was participating in a conference on women and farm labour, recalled how as a young housewife, she had to do a lot of housework and was pleasantly relieved at the arrival of the washing machine. But the moment it was bought, she said her husband asked her not to mess with the new gadget and took over the task of washing clothes. Alva joked that women are given the most tedious tasks but the moment mechanisation is introduced and the task becomes less daunting, men take charge.