In Africa, women are expected to play their role behind the scenes. Roles including making sure the house is clean, meals are prepared, little ones are looked after, clothes are sorted, etc.
These roles seldom vary between daughters and wives, except for the marital duty the wife owes her husband and the daughter having to see to her education, which some wives also do. Let’s keep in mind that in the typical rural setting, the girl may not have the opportunity to attend school, but rather she probably goes to the farm or to some other duty assigned by her parents.
To do all this, the woman is usually the first to wake up and the last to go to bed. She works from dawn to dusk hoping to get a few minutes off just to rest. She shuffles around to do the chores, babysit the kids and take care of her husband. She does all of this herself as she tries to keep her sanity, sometimes forgetting to take care of herself.
If she has a husband who feels that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and the bedroom, then she is sure that he will never lift a finger to help. Instead, she puts her feet up reading a newspaper, watching TV, browsing her phone, or even chatting with a friend or two while she relaxes with a cool drink.
When a child expresses himself crying because of another child’s mischief, because of hunger or because of the need for something that is out of reach or for some reason that one cannot grasp with one’s fingers; Some husbands, instead of raising a hand to help, either ignore the cry until the woman hears it and rushes to attend to that child’s need, or simply calls her to hurry.
Although women are designed to be nurses, should this be done to their detriment?
Kudos to the great brothers, husbands and fathers who are always there doing their part to help the women in their lives and ensure that the duty of keeping the home running smoothly does not become an exhausting task for these women. You are the best. Please keep it up. And for those who do the opposite, it’s not too late to start helping. You will surely be surprised, but on the positive side, a sensible woman will appreciate you more for these gestures.
How can women in whatever situation they find themselves improve their lifestyle? How can they take advantage of their strength to improve our luck?
First of all, time management. Truth be told, there is always something to do at home, but there is a need to learn time management. There is a need to establish a time between doing everything to rest, a kind of me time.
Prioritize: Know the time it takes to perform each task and set a time to rest. This will definitely not be easy, especially if the woman has to go to work or go to school while she manages the household. If there is a need to work a schedule, please do so. This is for the long-term good.
Second, the division of labor: if there are younger siblings or children in the household, they should be assigned roles. This relieves stress. Children must learn to pick up after themselves. For example, when they play with toys, let them know to put them back in the toy box or toy corner or wherever the toys are kept when they’re done. By doing this, you don’t have to pick them up and that’s less of a job to do.
As children get older, they need to learn simple tasks like cleaning themselves, making the bed in the morning, flushing the toilet. This may seem like a small task, but imagine you’ve already been stressed and you still have a lot to be one, so you have to drop whatever you’re doing just to attend to that. They need to learn how to set the table and clean up when the meal is over. Overtime need to learn to clean the house. Sometimes it takes a measure of firmness to do it, but it’s all for the best.
We can use this strength that we have to achieve great things. Now, when time is well managed, one can devote himself to other things; not vain things but positive things like being able to read those books that have been on the shelf since they were bought but have never been read, achieving that goal that has been set for a long time, writing that proposal for the business idea that you want to enter and so on successively.
All of this can be achieved. Gone are the days when women were relegated to the background. Now, women are accomplishing feats once thought impossible. Can you dare to be that woman? Do you dare to be a role model for your children and the next generations? Can you dare to leave your mark on the sands of time?
My answer is yes! I can be that woman.
Congratulations to all women, especially those who carry so many responsibilities and are not appreciated enough, I salute you. You are amazing, you are great and you are beautiful inside and out. Keep being the strong woman you’ve always been.
