Kerala IAS Officer Delivers Speech While Holding Her Toddler, Sparks Debate On Social Media

A video of a Kerala IAS officer attending a public event with her three-year-old son in her arms has stirred a debate on social media. While several netizens have praised her for balancing her personal and professional life, others have criticised her for the same.

Pathanamthitta District Collector Divya S Iyer, in her defence, has stated that she is a "24x7 mum and a 24x7 District Collector".

The video was posted by Chittayam Gopakumar, Deputy Speaker of the Kerala Assembly and organiser of the event, to express the joy of having a child around.

In the video that has now gone viral, Iyer was seen addressing the crowd at the Adoor Film Festival's closing ceremony, while holding her son in her arms, The Indian Express reported. Iyer said that while her son had patiently waited throughout the function, he ran up to her on the dais as soon as her name was announced to deliver a speech.

Netizens Criticise IAS Officer

Renowned lyricist Rajeev Alunkal was one of the first persons to criticise Iyer. He said that Iyer had trivialised the function by doing so, and hence, her actions should not be praised.

Several social media users have also stated that Iyer should have behaved more professionally, as delivering the speech while holding her son seemed insincere. A Twitter user with the username Arnaz Hathiram took a dig at Iyer saying, "Stop using kids for PR stunts." Another user commented asking why couldn't Iyer find someone to watch her baby for a couple of hours. A third user commented, "Imagine a doctor carrying his/her child in OT/ The feeling of entitlement in #IAS these days is baffling."

A considerable section of users, instead of blaming Iyer for professionalism, questioned the scale of responsibility a father has towards his child. A Twitter user, Shama, said, "Debatable point is, why father not taking care of child when mother is at work? Have we seen any father taking his child to office. But we expect mother's office should have facility to take care of her child." Another chimed in, pointing out the time when New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was to deliver a speech at a UN summit, her partner Clarke Gayford had sat in the audience with their child, and asked, "Why couldn't Iyer's husband do the same?"

Women Take On 24x7 Roles: Iyer

Iyer, while speaking to NDTV, has stated that the programme was a socio-cultural event of a purely non-official nature. She had also informed the organisers before the event that her son would be attending the event with her.

She added that she tries to strike a work-life balance by spending quality time with her son and giving him varied experiences. However, since the event took place on a Sunday, she decided to bring her son along with her.

Seeing all the comments filtering in on social media, Iyer hopes that such discussions will facilitate making workplaces more friendly for women, children and families. "We women take on 24x7 roles in life, where we cannot afford to do shifts. A working mother need not necessarily imply that she takes her job responsibilities any less seriously", she added.

The Youth Congress state vice president K S Sabarinadhan, who is also Iyer's husband, has supported his wife, saying, "Most working women juggle several roles even while performing their official duties."

In a Facebook post he wrote for his wife amid the mounting criticism, he stated, "It's not just Divya. The majority of working women stand firm on their feet by overcoming many crises and difficulties. If people learn about the problems they have overcome, they will stop criticising working women who take on several roles in life."

To conclude, he added that working moms don't want anyone's sympathy, but they do want to be given a positive space to function in society.

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