Household chores are often expected to be shared among family members.
However, one Malaysian woman said she was expected to handle most of the work at home simply because she was the daughter, while her brother was allowed to rest.
In a viral post, the netizen shared her frustration over the different expectations placed on her and her brother.
Returned from work to a pile of chores
According to the woman, she had just returned home from work when she found a pile of clothes waiting to be folded.
None of the clothes belonged to her, but her family allegedly expected her to fold them anyway.
She said she was also responsible for buying groceries, cooking, preparing rice, cleaning the kitchen and vacuuming the front of the house.
“I work too. Imagine coming home and seeing everyone’s clothes piled up, with none of mine in the pile, but they still expect me to fold them,” she wrote.
When she questioned why she had to do everything despite having just returned from work, her mother allegedly told her to complete whatever chores needed to be done since she was already home.
Meanwhile, her brother was reportedly lying down nearby and was not asked to help.
The woman claimed her mother told her that housework was her responsibility because she was the daughter.
Claims her brother is treated differently
The woman also alleged that her mother spoke to her and her brother differently.
According to her, her mother rarely raised her voice at her brother but would immediately begin shouting whenever she spoke to her.
She said the shouting could sometimes be loud enough for the neighbours to hear.
However, whenever she questioned why she was treated differently from her brother, her mother allegedly insisted that she treated all her children equally.
Mother reportedly experienced similar treatment growing up
In a response to another netizen, the woman said she could not understand why her mother continued placing such expectations on her, especially as her mother had also experienced a difficult childhood.
She explained that her mother was the eldest child among several brothers and was reportedly expected to take care of them.
According to the woman, her mother did not attend school and was once punished for forgetting to iron her younger sibling’s clothes before sending him to school.
Despite going through that experience herself, the woman said her mother appeared to be repeating the same pattern with her own daughter.
“I feel sorry for what she went through, but I don’t understand why she is doing the same thing to her daughter,” she wrote.
Others shared similar experiences
Several women responded to the post by sharing that they had faced similar expectations at home.
One commenter said she and her sister were expected to cook, wash clothes, hang them out to dry, fold them and clean the house even after returning from work.
Meanwhile, her brother was reportedly not asked to do anything despite being on leave.
She said the situation eventually pushed her and her sister to move out and live on their own.
“Now, when we return home, we can rest, order food or eat whatever is available. It is peaceful,” she wrote.
Another commenter suggested separating each family member’s laundry into labelled baskets so that everyone would be responsible for folding and hanging their own clothes.
Others encouraged the woman to save money and rent a room elsewhere, saying she deserved to have her own peaceful space.
