Thai woman challenges traditional roles with refusal to iron husband’s clothes

A Thai woman has taken to an online forum to vent about her mother-in-law’s nagging over her refusal to iron her husband’s clothes. The woman, who works away from home and returns only on weekends, argues that her husband should be able to iron his clothes.

The woman revealed that she lives with her husband’s family but works and resides in a different province during the week, returning home every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. She admits that she prefers to rest at home, rather than taking up household chores such as ironing. However, her mother-in-law frequently complains about her refusal to iron her son’s clothes, despite the son never expressing any issue about this matter himself.

It was noted that the mother-in-law would usually iron her son’s clothes before their marriage. However, after the wedding, she seemed to expect the daughter-in-law to take on this task. The woman expressed her confusion and frustration, as her husband had never ironed his clothes before.

Still, his mother never complained about him, instead directing her criticisms towards her daughter-in-law. She questioned why her husband couldn’t occasionally iron his clothes, as they share other household chores.

The forum post garnered much attention, with various opinions and viewpoints shared. Some suggested that the mother-in-law was likely influenced by traditional beliefs that the wife should care for her husband.

They suggested that upon accepting the poster as a daughter-in-law, she may have hoped for her to look after her son. If the woman was unable to fulfil these traditional duties after marriage, the mother-in-law might be discontented.

Others argued that there was no clear wrong or right in this situation, as some people are willing and happy to iron their spouse’s clothes while others are not. However, they agreed that the owner of the clothes should be responsible for them and that the husband should discuss the issue with his mother. They advised against letting the wife and mother-in-law confront each other and even suggested hiring a laundry service to resolve the issue.

The woman’s post sparked a debate about traditional gender roles and responsibilities in a marriage, challenging societal norms and expectations. Her situation highlighted the importance of communication and respect in familial relationships, particularly between daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law, reported KhaoSod.