Diary of a day in the pandemic

To me this situation is really hard, since now I can’t do the things I could before, like internships to learn more about my profession, and go to university classes with my friends. I also miss walking through the city of Prishtina with my friends.

I am not able to do these things anymore, and this made me someone who can understand the difference between gender roles in the family, especially when it comes to helping with the chores.

From what I’ve seen, our society has forced different terms of house chores on to us. It’s also parents who support the idea that men should not help with the house chores; girls are the ones who should work and help around the house. Luckily, in my home this started to change. Sometimes, when I need help, my brother is willing to give me a hand. This happens only when he sees how tired and busy I am. Recently I asked him to help and he agreed to do so only when the chores were harder, and when they were suitable for him.

Grandparents don’t think men should help, on the other hand my parents didn’t completely agree with them. However, there are times when seeing a boy helping with chores bothers them too.

During this time, I had a lot of time to read. Reading is one of the things that make me the happiest. My favorite book I’ve read so far is Steve Jobs’ biography. This book is a chronicle of a creative entrepreneur’s life and
polyhedral personality. His passion to be excellent and his strong will were his strongest points. At a time where societies in the world try to build the economy of the digital age, Jobs is considered as the icon of youth and imagination.

I have also started to study for my last exams and started working on my thesis. My thesis research is really challenging to do at this time, since I can’t share my questionnaires in schools, institutions, and organizations.

This article was written by Erona Maloku, a student in the Department of Social Work in UP under the monitoring of professor Vjollca Krasniqi within the cooperation with SIT. This article was written within the project “Men and Boys as Partners in Promoting Gender Equality and the Prevention of Youth Extremism and Violence in the Balkans”, implemented by CARE International Balkans in partnership with SIT and YMCA in Kosovo and supported by Austrian Development Agency, and Oak Foundation.