How Whatsapp’s payment feature is enabling Asma, a full-time executive and mom, to conquer everyday challenges
Chennai-based Asma Bhaiyat is your hero-next-door, effortlessly striking a balance between work and life and managing finances with aplomb
Women are no strangers to juggling both work and home as they navigate the daily challenges of life. Asma Bhaiyat is one such everyday hero. As a partner at IT Service, and mother to a three-year-old, she is always on the go. Her day begins at 5 AM when the milkman rings the doorbell. Soon after, she hits the gym or goes for her morning walk. On her way back, she picks up the morning newspaper and calls her local grocery store to get items delivered. She comes home to her husband and daughter to prepare lunch for them before rushing to work. In the evening, she hires a cab to get back home. And then it's back to house chores.
Throughout her day, Asma has to constantly make payments - to the milkman, grocer, gym, newspaper, the cab driver, and for general repairs. Holding a high-level executive position at work while also managing the house leaves her with little to no time to record expenses or even withdraw cash for her day-to-day activities. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting ATMs has become near to impossible, making it difficult for her to physically pay friends or businesses.
Caught up in day-to-day life and the pressure of budgeting her expenses, Asma was unable to spend quality time with her family too. Using payments has changed that.
"With my payments sorted, I can incorporate some quality family time into my daily routine, be it spending a few minutes conversing with my husband during breakfast or playing with my daughter in the evenings," she says.
As a woman, Asma’s challenges are not limited to just dividing her time between work and home. She often finds it difficult to make men take her seriously. But that doesn't dampen her spirit.
“I have a three year old daughter who needs to be taught how to survive by example. Life is not easy - be it for men or women - but I feel for women it’s just a bit harder because society has not fully accepted women in leadership roles. To secure a better future for the next generation of aspiring young girls, we need to change this societal outlook. Equal opportunity is a starting point,” she says.
Now, the ability to chat, pay and receive money, and keep track of transactions all at the same time has become a one-stop solution for Asma as a busy working mother and has given her freedom to manage her finances, she says. It is tools like these that are changing the way everyday heroes are breaking the barriers of bias, one day at a time.
(This story is part of a series spotlighting extraordinary, inspiring women from different walks of life for the See Us, Hear Us campaign powered by WhatsApp for International Women’s Day. You can read more such stories from the month-long campaign here.)
