Grind chakki, sweep floors to stay fit: Rajasthan education dept's health advice to women

Women should do household chores such as making lassi, grinding chakki, sweeping floors to remain fit. These are the health guidelines issued by a magazine released by the Rajasthan Education Department, Hindustan Times reported.

The November edition of ‘Shivara’ carries an article suggesting various ways to stay healthy. While walking, running and cycling are included, the suggestions also include household chores to stay fit.

Among the other suggestions, the magazine says that one should eat half a portion when they are hungry. The other half, the magazine says, should be divided equally by drinking water and breathing clean air. 

Social media has gone up in arms to criticize the magazine for suggesting women could do household chores to stay fit.  Some said that the publication was of a government led by a woman - Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje - did not seem to have helped its judgment.

Admitting the error, Nathmal Didel, Director of Secondary Education and the magazine's chief editor, told Hindustan Times that including the domestic activities should not have been mentioned in the magazine as exclusively for women. He, however, added that writer of the guidelines was influenced by how things had traditionally occurred in society and said there was no intention of discrimination behind the guidelines.