It's raining babies in India and Twitter is making the best of it.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and wife and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma made the happy announcement of baby Virushka's arrival in their family on Thursday. “And then, we were three! Arriving Jan 2021,” the couple announced on social media.
The news came days after Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic welcomed their baby boy to the world and also followed the announcement of actress Kareena Kapoor Khan's second pregnancy.
But while Kohli's fans were busy congratulating the star, some Twitter users couldn't help but make a gentle point about gender roles.
"Is Virat Kohli going to continue his cricketing career after fatherhood? How will he balance a sporting career with family?", a Twitter user wrote.
"Can Virat handle the captaincy once he's a father? Will he be able to focus on the job? Career ending move, this," asked another.
Many Kohli fans and followers of toxic masculinity seemed to miss the point of the tweets, which was pointing out the inequality with which male and female professionals - especially sportspersons - were treated with when announcing their pregnancy.
Many tweeted about the way Kohli would perhaps have been treated when announcing the news of his pregnancy, had he been a woman.
Is Virat Kohli going to continue his cricketing career after fatherhood? How will he balance a sporting career with family?
— Star Wars: AnuHope (@anumccartney) August 27, 2020
I mean if Anushka "allows" him to work!
— Shivangi (@ChoubeyShivangi) August 27, 2020
Can Virat handle the captaincy once he's a father? Will he be able to focus on the job? Career ending move, this.
— Sivakami Sivakumar (@kamicrelief) August 27, 2020
He should take a break till his children are ready?
— Pooja 🖤🖤🖤 (@Pjverma) August 27, 2020
An underslept irritable Virat will be a source of workplace toxicity, a bad influence to have around work colleague. That is when he returns after a year and a half long paternity leave. It’s best to let him go.
— The Rupee Room ❼ (@VikramBarhat) August 27, 2020
Women in sports face a tough time coping with motherhood and work. Women athletes across the world face a tough time choosing between their careers, sponsorships, and choosing a family. For many, a pregnancy usually means an end to one's career. For those who choose to return, the pressure to perform is intense.
It isn't just in sports, most professionals deem maternity as an obstruction to higher productivity and profitability. In fact, maternity and motherhood is often deemed as a roadblock to women's careers.
But childbirth should not be the woman's job alone. While there is a need for mandatory maternity leaves and benefits, these should not extend only to women. Childbirth is as much a father's responsibility as it is a mother's.
Fans of Kohli should perhaps remember to be just as gracious when it comes to congratulating women sportspersons when they share similar news. And also bat for gender equality in sports when it comes to that.
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