In the last four decades , there has been an alarming rise in the number of lower middle and middle class women who seek employment to supplement their household income . While there is little doubt that women from the lower ranks of society have always had to work in the fields or in petty jobs to sustain themselves and their families , there were strong objections and a marked reluctance among the middle classes to allow women to step out of the house to earn a living . Their basic role continued to be gender based , as daughter , wife and mother . Much has changed since independence .