It's a post that has gone viral and has more than 25,000 shares on Facebook. A working mother from Pune had no choice but to take her sick child to work.
The woman, named Swati Chitalkar, works at a Syndicate Bank branch in Pune and is the sole bread winner of her family. However, on Friday this mother faced a very common problem that working mothers across the world face quite frequently.
It was a usual working day for Swati when she found that her son was running a high fever. But as her work did not allow her to stay at home with her son she planned to leave him at the safe hands of her husband. But when her son refused to stay with anyone but her, she had no choice but to take him to work with her.
While carrying her office duties with her son lying on the floor drinking milk, she suddenly thought of posting a picture and write a strong message to the leaders of the country.
To her surprise the post caught the attention of every one and soon went viral. This was because Swati made a very valid point in her message. Here's what she wrote:
Swati's Facebook post said: "Its not a baby on a floor, its my heart on the floor. He was fully fevered not ready to stay with any body. As half day is over I couldn't take leave in between and a urgent release of loan was there . but I could manage to mind my both the duties. Just want to convey the message to ministers who sleeps in assembly."
"I didn't imagine the post will go viral"
The post caught everybody's attention including the media and she was thronged with questions as to why she took her baby to work. However, Swati says she had to set agenda while she posting that picture on FB.
"My 3-year-old was not well. He had fever. Throughout the day he was at home with his dad, who takes care of the household work. As my kid was not listening to him, he called me and with few hours left for the day to end, I asked my husband to get him to office. I offered my kid milk and he slept behind me on the floor as I finished my work," she said as she spoke to India Today.
And Swati feels that there was nothing wrong in her decision to take her child to work as it is happening all across the world. She talks about a recent picture of an International minister who took her baby along with her while she was on patrol.
Continue reading on the next page to know what Swati has to say about her decision to post that picture!
"I thought that I am also working with my baby by my side. So it's happening all over the world. Then it struck me, why not post this picture and tell the nation and politicians what the public expects from them. These ministers promise us that they will take care of us just as our parents, so they should perform their duties the same way parents take care of their kids," she says.
Swati Chitalkar's post has in a way become a symbol of the plight of working mothers in our country.
"My message isn't targeted at sleeping ministers in the assembly alone, but also at all those ministers who are sleeping and performing their duties. Please do your planning of the projects keeping in mind the people of our country," she stated.
Life can be really tough for Indian working mothers and there are many challenges that they face everyday. However, things are looking to get brighter as the Indian government has just passed the Maternity Benefit Bill.
This is what the Bill hopes to provide to expecting Indian mothers:
- Working women would continue exclusive breastfeeding for a minimum of six months
- 12 weeks of maternity leave can be availed in cases of surrogacy (commissioning mother)
- 12 weeks of maternity leave can be availed in cases of adoption
We just hope that these points are put into execution soon that benefits working mums across India.
Also Read: 5 Challenges Indian working mothers face every day
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