I argued with my wife

Fancy dress competion, it says "I argued with my wife"

No, not me. I am a woman. This is about the picture posted here which is circulating in whatsapp with the caption ‘fancy dress competition; it says “I argued with my wife” with laughing smileys. At first I ignored it as an ignorant joke. But when I got it from other groups, I was kinda irked and asked, “What is fancy about it?”

“That’s for a laugh, don’t take it seriously” I was told.

There’s nothing fancy when you get a little boy dressed up in plasters and bandages. It’s a depiction of a wounded person who supposedly “argued with his wife”. Seriously!!???

Is that how men end up when they argue with their wives? Unless of course if the wife is a wrestler/ boxer with an ill temper. There must be hardly a handful of women who beat their men. And men who beat their women? Countless. Women are always at the receiving end and when you reverse it, it becomes a joke sometimes, and other times the reactions vary questioning “what kind of a woman she is?” and the man is not spared either "what kind of a man he is getting  beaten up"; henpecked, joru ka ghulam, etc, etc...

Reverse the scenario and have girl dressed up as “I argued with my husband”. How would the viewers react? I don’t think that would make them laugh at least the women would not laugh I am sure. That’s domestic violence they would say for sure.

So is domestic violence a laughing matter?

And what about the children especially the child who is dressed up like that? What kind of impact it would have on them? What are the messages we are sending to the children when on one hand we want gender equality and on the other we make light of violence at home whether inflicted on men or women.

Sure, I agree this must be just one event in one school somewhere in India. But every step counts when we want to create a gender just society.

Or have I lost my sense of humour as my friend chided me when I put across my view.