We have heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” And many times, it is very accurate, especially in our African culture. Still, we also need to remember that before a village pitch in to raising a child, the mother is at the forefront of the primary care the child needs, yet sometimes the mother is underappreciated for it.
Nowadays, fewer women are opting for or being subject to being stay-at-home mothers due to women’s rights being respected, more job opportunities, and women being educated. However, some women still stay home and look after their children and homes while their husbands work and earn a living for the family due to unemployment or religious reasons. People do not always understand what a woman goes through when it comes to tending to the needs of her family day in and day out. They play a very taxing role, and they often do not get any appreciation for it. Their role includes doing household chores, nursing, raising children, paying household bills, keeping track of goods that need to be replaced, bought, or thrown out, and maintaining order.
These tasks may seem minor or the “rightful duties of a woman,” but in the same way some families seek a house helper to do those same household duties and pay her for doing so, why can’t the woman of the home receive a monthly stipend for her duties as well? You might say that it should not be something she is paid to do as it is her family she is taking care of, but she, as a woman, deserves monetary gifts of appreciation for all that she does in the home. This money may also help the house’s upkeep and improve the woman’s self-esteem.
Many stay-at-home women go through depression and feel a loss of self as a result of feeling like they have not achieved much in life due to seeing family and friends who may be employed in businesses or are self-employed and make their own money. In some homes, women are taken advantage of by family members or husbands who do not respect them for the work they do. In some cases, men have had extra-marital affairs and have blamed their wives for it happening, stating that having a wife who cannot provide or look after herself is not appealing.
It is, therefore, crucial that being a stay-at-home parent or caregiver be a recognized profession as not only will it help these women use the money to develop themselves, gain self-worth, and maintain an income gained from what they spend most of their lives doing, but also become recognized as an essential part of society due to the work they do in raising their children who will become tomorrow’s future leaders. Being a stay-at-home parent, in that sense, will no longer be seen as an inferior position in society but a respectable one, which is as good as a blue-collar job.
By Louisa Mwatse