Kerala IAS officer Dr Divya S Iyer with her son at a public event
IAS officer Divya S Iyer has taken both, criticism as well as praise, in her stride after a video went viral on social media, showing the District Collector attending a public event in Kerala while holding her infant son in her arms. Defending her action, she said she is a "24x7 mum and a 24x7 District Collector".
Elaborating her point, the Pathanamthitta Collector told NDTV 24x7: "Just as the name of your channel suggests, I'm a 24x7 mum and a 24x7 District Collector. We women take on 24x7 roles in life, where we cannot afford to do shifts."
She said that a working mother need not necessarily imply that she takes her job responsibilities any less seriously.
Highlighting the importance of striking the right work-life balance, she added: "One way in which I try to maintain that balance is by trying to spend quality time with my son and try and give him varied experiences."
Ms Iyer said she hoped discussions such as these "will make workplaces in the country more friendly for women, children and families as a whole".
In the video, the District Collector can be seen sitting with her son, Malhar, on the dais and talking to him affectionately, before standing up to address the gathering. After the viral video, she said many women from across Kerala and from all over the country had reached out to her, empathising and saying: "This isn't just your problem."
While her husband stood by her action, commenting on the mixed reactions on social media, Ms Iyer said: "Any incident like this draws both, bouquets as well as brickbats. It's part of the debating culture in our country. But the fact that this has led to something wider is what matters and I hope that we take the conversation forward."
Fondly recollecting her son's reaction at the event, she said it was "completely unexpected and out of the blue".
Saying that it was the closing ceremony of the Adoor International Film Festival that she was attending, she clarified that it was "a socio-cultural event that was purely non-official in nature". The IAS officer said her son waited patiently until her name was announced to deliver a speech. "I don't know what got the better of him as he came running to me at the dais," she added.
She said the video that has gone viral on social media was posted by the Deputy Speaker of the Kerala Assembly, Chittayam Gopakumar, out of sheer joy of having a child around at the programme.