CONTRASTING LEISURE PATTERNS OF WORKING WOMEN DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN IN JAIPUR CITY

Abstract

This study explores the leisure patterns of working women during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown 
in Jaipur, India, focusing on three primary objectives: evaluating if women had the opportunity to 
engage in leisure, reviewing the role of families in either granting or denying this time, and 
determining new patterns of leisure that came up during the lockdown. The study employed a 
qualitative research method and the narrative approach to assess the research participants’ 
experiences The participants included ten working women from different fields. The study shows that 
the pandemic had a negative impact on women’s leisure time, which was reduced mainly because of 
the household and caregiving demands that crossed the work–leisure divide. Also, the study revealed 
that there was a change in leisure activities with women embracing home and digital leisure 
activities which were considered less enjoyable than the pre-pandemic leisure activities. Family 
dynamics were important; some women reported that traditional gender roles were reinforced, 
which deprived them of leisure even more, while others were encouraged to relax to some extent. The 
study also pointed out that the changes have social, emotional and psychological effects on the 
women, and most of the women interviewed expressed feelings of loneliness, irritation and anxiety. 
These results are consistent with other studies of gender inequalities in leisure and mobility, as well 
as calls for additional support measures that would protect women during emergencies. Therefore, 
the study recommends that there is need for more focus on gender equality in terms of sharing of 
household chores and leisure time especially in such crises as COVID-19.