Expressnews
Chennai: March 24th, 2022 – At a city event hosted by laundry brand Ariel, popular South stars Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Ciby Bhuvana Chandra highlighted the need to break the chain of gender inequality at home while urging all men to equally share household chores with their wives.In the spirit of Ariel’s latest See Equal, ShareTheLoad film, both the south sensations supported the conversation Ariel has been driving, that if men can share the load equally with other men, why are they not doing it with their wives? Ariel India has been steering conversations around gender equality at home since 2015 through their award-winning movement #ShareTheLoad and is urging men to be equal partners playing Equal roles. Because when we see equal, we #ShareTheLoad.
At the fun, light-hearted event that aimed to bring forth conversations that can help trigger realization of bias in men, the stars undertook the ‘ShareTheLoad’ challenge that demonstrated that they can easily take up chores and have fun doing it with each other. This furthermore highlighted how this trend is not continued in most marriages, as men don’t shoulder theweight of the household chores.
At the event, the duo also launched the Ariel limited-edition Name-Change packs, customized with their own names. These special packs are customized with some of the most common male-names of the country. The pack can either be given to those men who are already leading by example and taking up joint responsibility of chores, or it can be brought into households where it can become a conversation starter to pave the way for more equal division of household chores. These packs also take the conversation forward, that was started by comedian AnuMenon aka Lola Kuttywhere she suggested to change her name from Anu to Anil, her husband’s best friend’s name, in an attempt to create awareness and get men to see her and all women as equals. And when women are seen as equals, the path is instinctively created for more equal division of household chores.
Talking about the experience of the event, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj said, “We men do know how to do household chores, yet so many shy away from sharing this responsibility at home. When staying in hostels or growing up with brothers, it’s a given to divide chores with other men. So why would this be any different with their wives? That’s why I have always taken initiative to divide the chores with my partner, because for me we both are equals. This is a cause that is close to my heart and I am glad to be associated with a brand like Ariel that is advocating against inequality within households for last 7 years with #ShareTheLoad. Let’s break the stereotypes and take up our share of chores, so that we are taking equal responsibility of our homes!”
Ciby Bhuvana Chandra shared with us, “I am glad Ariel is seriously taking up the issue of gender inequality at home. A brand that truly believes in social change will not stop at just a film or one year. I am also happy to join them and spread the message further. Whether it is the thought-provoking film, the attention-grabbing satirical take by Anu Menon, or the innovative customized packs, all of them truly make us question our own biases – why are we so comfortable in sharing the responsibility of chores with other men but not with our partners? Let’s ensure we don’t let the spark die, instead we can challenge our own thinking and see women as our equals. Because when we #SeeEquial, we #ShareTheLoad.”
Ariel has launched the 5th edition of #ShareTheLoad about a month ago, and the film has garnered over 50 million views! Taking the conversation forward from the past years, this year the movement is questioning inherent unconscious biases that are coming in the way of men taking equal and join responsibility of household chores. A recent study by an independent third party revealed that a startling 73%* men agreed they did their share of household chores when they were staying with other men or roommates, but back away when living with their wives, while 80% women believe their partners know how to do household tasks but choose not to do them. 83% women felt that men don’t see women as equal when it comes to housework. Through its latest See Equal film, Ariel raises a pertinent question to men — ‘When men can share the load with other men, why not with their wives?’. With the special edition packs, the brand is taking the conversation forward as another reminder to men to start sharing the load if they are not doing it already. Laundry can be an easy chore to start with, with he impeccable cleaning of ariel no matter who does the laundry.
Ariel #SeeEqual #ShareTheLoad film – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA64FF7MR58
Anu Menon’s video link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GE2wnCFr6I
