Time and again, through the years, in fact generations, the concept of kitchen, cooking and food has been associated with women. This stereotype that the kitchen is a woman’s place is deeply enrooted and indoctrinated in our society. Beliefs and notions such as men are the breadwinners and women are the caretakers, are threaded into our daily fabric.

The concept of #RasodeMeinMardHai shatters this widespread notion of having women alone take up the kitchen responsibilities and normalises cooking and all the tasks associated with it as gender neutral roles. As a nation that has emerged from a pandemic as big as COVID-19, it definitely is a life skill that every person should have, keeping in mind the days spent through lockdown.

Rasode Mein Mard Hai questions gender expectations, by raising a very important question ke aakhir Rasode Mein Aurat Hi Kyon and urges the generations to change this age-old norm and redefine roles and responsibilities. The gendered division of labour in the kitchen by women alone leaves them with very less time to socialise or sleep eventually affecting their overall health and wellbeing. In many Indian households, if a man walks into the kitchen, it is considered odd or wrong and is a massive effect based on age old societal norms.

The relevant question here is “Why the gender disparity?”

Through the campaign Bail Kolhu is trying to change the unbalanced expectations from all genders.

So, is this just another women empowerment journey? While yes, of course, but not the only one. The concept is not just to liberate women from the confines of the stove and the sink. It’s also about accepting that cooking should be a collectively held duty – Afterall why cannot cooking for men be empowering for the gender?