Can’t sacrifice career
I am a reporter and I love my work very much. I would never want to do anything that will interfere with my work. It takes a long time to get pregnant and to raise a child and I cannot compromise my work at any cost. The decision to not have a child is not just mine because I involved my husband too. He was hesitant initially but now is on my side. Our love for each other is still the same, even after my decision.
Kriti Arora, 27 years, reporter, Mumbai
In my mother’s shoes
My mother was in a government job. When I was two years old, she left me in the village and I was raised by my grandmother. My mother was not able to handle her job, home and me in the city. I was deprived of my parents’ love while growing up and my education also suffered. I do not have very fond memories of my childhood. Ironically, I am in my mother’s shoes now and have a good job. I too am finding it tough to find the right balance between home and office and can’t even imagine how I will raise a kid. That's why my husband and I have mutually decided that we will not have kids.
Meenakshi, 29 years, Lucknow, engineer
No labour pains for me
I have seen many women go through labour pain and have come to the conclusion that I can not bear such pain. I had told my husband before marriage that I do not have the courage to bear a child and endure such pain. When we feel the need for a child at any stage in life, we will adopt one. We are focusing on building our careers right now.
Avantika Parmar, 24 years, bank worker, Delhi
Can’t afford a baby yet
I married a guy going against the wishes of my parents. We both come from humble backgrounds and our parents were not financially strong. Because of this, we both could not do what we wanted to do in our lives. Although we both work in private companies, we still earn only enough to meet our daily needs. After paying our house rent and EMI’s, we are not left with any money at all. We cannot even imagine how we will raise a child in such a situation. So we have decided not to have one unless we are financially better off and are able to work flexibly to take care of our baby. Till then, we are very happy in our own small world.
Sonam Singh, 27 years Varanasi, bpo executive
Don’t want a tough life
I saw my sister’s condition after she had a baby. No one in the family, even her husband, has helped her with the baby it is her sole responsibility. She is also expected to do all the household chores. I feel miserable for her and believe that I should never have a baby. I have a job and I am a working woman. I would never want to lead such a difficult life of raising a child while managing all the work. So I will stick to my decision to never have a kid and enjoy my life as a working woman.
Ritika Mukherjee, 29 years, Noida
Names changed.
Persons in the picture are models.
Is it necessary for all women to have a child? Share your views with Love Matters on our Facebook page. If you have a specific question, please visit our discussion forum - Let’s Talk.
About the author: Anoop Kumar Singh is a freelance translator and Hindi copywriter based in Gurugram. He completed his bachelor's degree in Hindi literature from Kanpur University. He specializes in creating Hindi SEO content for companies in the health, lifestyle and marketing domain. You can find him on Substack and Twitter.