The Dystopian Reality of a Housewife
“Today is a beautiful day. I woke up feeling so happy and then suddenly I remembered that I have to cook food for my family and take care of my children while my husband goes out to work.” thought Kavita
My husband works so hard to earn a living for this family. I owe it to him to make him happy, even if it requires doing things that I don’t feel like doing.
While Kavita was contemplating over this thought, suddenly, she was startled by her younger daughter, who came running towards her playfully and screaming “Amma!” with giggles. Kavita picked her up into her arms and said, “Yes, baby. How is my beautiful daughter doing today?”. Kavita has two precious and loving daughters, four and five and a half years old.
Kavita got dressed, wore a saree, and went outside to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her family. She realized that she was already late as her husband was about to leave for work in less than an hour.
She rushed to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast. She made sizzling omelets sided with bread, which were medium toasted, just like her husband loves it. While serving the breakfast on the table, her husband rushed into the dining room and sat on the table and shrieked, “Where is my breakfast Kavita? Where are the breads? Am I just supposed to eat omelets? You only have one job to do which is just to cook and take care of these two mongrels (pointing towards his daughters who were sitting right opposite to him). I mean, you couldn’t even give me a son”. Kavita started panicking and, with her fearful voice, said, “I am so sorry Rana. I will go get the toasted breads right away.” Kavita was fearful. She was afraid that her husband might raise his hand on her in front of her daughters. She did not want them to think of their father as someone who could do that.
As Kavita returned to the dining room, she saw that her husband has already left for the office without eating breakfast. Niesha, her elder daughter, comes to her afeard and says in her timid voice, “Amma, is Appa angry with us? Does he hate us? Did we do something wrong?”
Kavita broke into tears when Niesha asked her these questions and said, “No baccha! Your father loves you all so much. He loves you like you love Peppa the Pig. He is just having a bad day today”. Niesha was just five and a half years old. She was thrilled when her mother told her that her father loves her just like she loves Peppa the Pig. While wiping the tears rolling down her cheek, Kavita says, “Now go play with your sister Nikki in your room baby.”
Kavita had a lot of work for the day that was piled up. She had to go to the dry cleaners and pick up the clothes; she had to drop the kids off at daycare; make lunch and dinner; get the kids back from daycare, and clean the house.
As the day went by, Kavita, with her own sweet time, finished all the chores, and by the time all the tasks were done, it was already 7:30 PM. She knew her husband would be coming back home from the office anytime soon now.
She switched on the geyser and put some fresh linen towels inside the bathroom. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and she knew who it was. She rushed to the main door and opened and said, “Rana! You are back! How was your day?” Rana said, “Kavita, I had a very tiring day. There were many meetings and clients that I had to talk to. Anyway, you would not understand. I will just go take a shower and freshen up for dinner”. Kavita, to her dismissal, said, “Of course. I will get the dinner ready.”
“Where are the girls?” asked Rana. “They fell asleep. They had a very hectic day at the daycare,” replied Kavita. “Oh good. We have the house all to ourselves then,” said Rana with a smirk and grin on his face and left to take a shower.
While Rana was in the shower, Kavita knew what was coming her way. She dreaded the night.
Kavita plated the dinner on the dining table and waited for her husband to finish so that she could eat after that.
Rana was done eating dinner and even complimented Kavita for making a delicious, wholesome dinner.
Kavita could hear the crickets chirp in the front yard as she was washing the utensils. It was one of those silent nights at home. The kids had fallen asleep. But Kavita was dreading and feeling apprehensive about going to their bedroom. She was hoping that Rana would have fallen asleep by the time she’d go to the room.
Kavita finished all the household chores, switched off the kitchen lights, and advanced towards their bedroom. She was relieved when she saw that Rana had fallen asleep. She changed into her nightgown and snuck into the cold bed, and wrapped the blanket around her. She could feel Rana’s hand slide towards her hips. Kavita became numb. She didn’t feel like having sex, and yet she knew it was going to happen. Every night, it’s the same story over and over again. Rana pulled Kavita closer to his body and started leaving soft, wet kisses on her neck and back. Kavita cringed and drew back to the side. Rana came on top of her and started unbuttoning Kavita’s nightgown. He began kneading Kavita’s breast and playing with her nipples. Kavita was feeling very uncomfortable. She didn’t know how to tell Rana to stop. She somehow gathered the strength and said, “Rana, can we not do it tonight? I am very sore from yesterday.” Rana was in his state of utopia. He didn’t listen to Kavita and kept continuing. He undressed himself. Kavita’s breasts were hung free, and Rana’s mouth attacked her neck until he took one of her nipples and started sucking it hard. Kavita couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed Rana and screamed out loud, “No! I don’t want to do this tonight”. Rana got furious and immediately raised his hand at Kavita. He slapped her and then pinned her down to the bed. He removed his underpants with his erection hung free and thrusted deep into her. With each thrust, a tear rolled down Kavita’s cheeks. The pain was real, and it was excruciating. It was a pain that Kavita could not explain. She went numb and, at that point, felt like life made no sense. The pain was so unbearable that it paralyzed Kavita to sleep.
The next morning, Kavita woke up with marks of subjugation and oppression all over her body. She felt like she had no way out and thought, “Today is a beautiful day. I woke up feeling so happy and then suddenly I remembered that I have to cook food for my family and take care of my children while my husband goes out to work.”
