Rivaba Jadeja, wife of Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, while educating people about various schemes for development for girls to the women of a village, made a statement that has drawn quite a bit of attention. Rivaba Jadeja is also a BJP leader who joined the party ahead of 2019 general elections.
Rivaba was heard encouraging the villagers to participate in household chores irrespective of gender. Addressing the mentality of ‘women belong in the kitchen’, she gave an example of her cricketer husband. She said while there is no need for him to work at home, he still comes to the kitchen to help her out and makes tea while she cooks food.
રાજકોટ : ‘હું રોટલી બનાઉ તો રવિન્દ્રનસિંહ ચા બનાવે છે,’ રીવાબા જાડેજાનો Video થયો Viral pic.twitter.com/INwBNY5Rmo
— News18Gujarati (@News18Guj) March 29, 2021
The viral video which is being well accepted by many also stressed the fact that we need to bring about certain reforms in the way we think as a society. She says sweeping the house will not make Darbaris (Rajputs) any lesser. Rivaba added that while we teach our daughters how to live in a society, educate them and teach them about our culture, we seldom teach the same to our boys.
While her message was welcomed by most, some stood in disagreement. To clarify the same, she gave an interview to Gujarati news channel VTV where she can be seen determined about her approach and messaging.
She explained that we talk about ‘kanya kelavni’ (making girls skill-developed), why do we not talk about ‘kunwar kelavni’ (making boys skilled-developed). Why can’t boys be made self-reliant. Citing an example, she said, “When a family has a boy and a girl, they will tell the girl to put the plate in the sink. However, people don’t tell their sons to put their own plates in the sink. Doing your own work should not hurt your ego.”
However, the video clip that went viral is just 30 seconds of her 2.5-hour long discussion with the villagers. Rivaba opines that her message was not directed to any particular caste, community or gender but simply meant that basic survival chores should be learnt by all irrespective of gender.
Rivaba Jadeja had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019 just before the Lok Sabha elections in the presence of Gujarat Agriculture Minister RC Faldu and MP Poonam Mahajan at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
