Table 3.

Quotes from in-depth interviews (IDIs) by theme.

Themes	Quotesa
EWR COVID-19 Work	“In normal days (pre-COVID-19), I also have to finish all this [Panchayat/office related work] every day. But … yes, during COVID-19 there were several other jobs, cleaning [for disinfecting] …. I had to work a lot. What can I do … There wasn't any transport. I had to walk long distances to reach the office or other locations. Sometimes in the day as well as at the night.” -- Age 48 years, Age at marriage 16 years, Primary School Education, OBC, (ID: 1279)
Family Support for Domestic Labor	“Certainly [workload at home had increased] as everyone was at home [after the lockdown]. I had to cook and clean but my elder daughter helped me out …he [husband] helps in washing clothes, at times he cooks food when he feels like.” -- Age 34 years, Age at marriage 16 years, College Graduate, SC/ST, (ID: 1174) “Yes… the household chores were amplified ten times. With these, I had to go to duty every single day …yes [my husband helped]. Suppose those days when I had to report earlier, which meant preparing breakfast, lunch early. He helped me to do all the chores quickly.” -- Age 40 years, Age at marriage 18 years, Primary School, Scheduled Caste (ID: 1468) “Certainly [workload at home had increased], as everyone was at home. I had to cook and clean but my elder daughter helped me out …he [husband] helps in washing clothes, at times he cooks food when he feels like.” -- Age 34 years, Age at marriage 16 years, College Graduate, SC/ST, (ID: 1174) “My husband and my daughters help me. Hence, the work pressure is divided among us … [They help by] cooking food and cleaning the house.” -- Age 36 years, Age at marriage 17 years, Higher Secondary School (11th/12th, OBC (ID: 1266) “Since I became the Ward ‘pratinidhi’ (representative/member) … I spend a lot of time there [in the Ward] to do the works for the ward inhabitants. I don't get much time (for domestic work) … Now they [daughters] take time for household work …” —Age 42 years, Age at marriage 18 years, Higher Secondary (11th/12th), OBC (ID: 147)
Discomfort with Family Support for Domestic Labor	“We [women] do the household work and we don't tell the male members of the family to do the household work.” -- Age 45 years, Age at marriage 24 years, Higher Secondary School (11th/12th), OBC (ID: 358) “Yes- workload has increased [after the outbreak of COVID-19] … I do household work … No [my husband doesn't help] it is my duty to look after home why I will disturb him; I am his wife it is my duty to do household work.” -- Age 28 years, Age at marriage 19, Primary school, SC/ST (ID: 1669)
Family Support for EWR Work	“I do all my work on my own and also help people in need and emergency. My husband and son have scotty (transportation/own vehicle) and they go [to faraway places or wherever I can't go] without any problem.” -- Age 45 years, Age at marriage 17 years, Secondary School (9th/10th), OBC (ID: 1719) “People came to us [about a situation of marital violence], and my husband and I went there [site of violence]. He [husband] made them understand that you should not fight, as we all have [a serious] problem [pandemic] at present…Yes, they listen to us and also respect us a lot. So they will not fight anymore.” -- Age 45 years, Age at marriage 24 years, Higher Secondary (11th/12th), OBC (ID: 358) “All the quarrels and everything [pertaining to violence] are very problematic. So my husband talks and I just listen to them quietly.” -- Age 38 years, Age at marriage 18 years, Primary School, OBC (ID: 1336) “If there's a case of violence in our village, then we all [community members and leaders] go there and solve it and explain it to the people that fighting is not good … All of us try to solve the problem together, if the situation becomes grave enough. When it's not that grave, then people don't get into it.” -- Age 34 years, Age at marriage 16 years, College Graduate, Scheduled Caste (ID: 613)
EWR Work Independent of Other System Support	“Why I go to others [for help]? I solve the problems on my own. I try to control the situation, as I don't want it to turn into a court case. We verbally discuss the issues. I am the ‘pratinidhi’ [representative/member] of our locality, people acknowledge me. People listen to me. I have done it earlier as well. They all are now happy. We don't go outside with our issues.”-- Age 44 years, Age at marriage 17 years, Secondary School (9th/10th), OBC (ID: 807) “They will say that this lady is going to the school (about the child marriage) and at the same time she will go to the Anganwadi and they will also say that we have never seen such a lady. They are fighting with me all the time because of this. This is how I work. I have to fight and work.” -- Age 38 years, Age at marriage 13 years, Higher Secondary School (11th/12th), OBC (ID: 1244) “So I have been serving as Sarpanch [head of Panchayat/rural local governing body] for 10 years and I have been solving all the problems without money …I didn't take the matter to police station … So even now people respect me [for that]. If I don't go to a place [in my constituency], problems won't be solved.”-- Age 46, Age at marriage 15 years, No Formal School, OBC (ID: 755)

Note: IDI participants included EWRs representing all caste categories, but certain caste groups are over-represented in the study area, resulting in unequal representation of EWRs by caste in presented quotes.

^aAll quotes indicate the following information about the quoted EWR: age, age at marriage, highest level of education, caste, and unique ID number.