The home is made up of the man, woman and their children(if there is any). The word ‘house chore’ comes from a combination of two separate words (house and chore). Since the home is made up of both sexes, why then do we limit chores to females (girls,ladies, women)?
Every inhabitant of the home is supposed to be responsible for the chores, which must not leave out anyone.
In our African setting, right from the days of our fore-fathers, women are subjected to all forms of hardships, thereby making them to be at the receiving end of all sorts of abuse. Our fore-fathers acquired(married) many wives in order to have many hands working on the farm, women worked as hard as the men on the farm, yet they had to rush home to prepare dinner, with heavy loads of food stuffs on their heads whilst the men strolled behind them with only their cutlass in their hands to drive away flies from their bodies, and their hoes hanged on their shoulders. If there is any delay in the cooking, it might earn the women some serious beating from the men.
Sadly some of the 21st century men that are expected to know better are also walking the path of their ancestors by not doing any chore at home to relieve their wives.
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, a chore is “a task that you do regularly”. It is also “an unpleasant or boring task”.
With the aforementioned definition, we can deduce that some chores can be very monotonous, which might affect someone mentally or psychologically. Wouldn’t it be a good idea for men to relieve their wives and save them from some of these ‘tasks’.
Also, most 21st century women are contributing to the economic value of the home, which means that she goes through the same stress the man goes through. Some women even work more or take more responsibility at work, which means that they work as hard or even harder than some men and after work this women, even though fagged out after a hard day’s work rush back home to cater to the children and man, who sometimes might have been home before them but chose to wait up for an already tired woman to also cater to him. If men expect their women to contribute to the family upkeep financially, it will not be a bad idea if chores are shared at home.
We should all note that, women are not born with brooms, duster, cooking skills and utensils, they learnt them. Why can’t boys/men do the same?
Furthermore , we should all endeavour to train our children equally, do not leave the boy-child in the sitting room or on the field, while you order the girls to follow ‘mommy’ into the kitchen. There is nothing bad in handling the cooking spoons and ladle to the boys too.
Finally, house chores won’t and can’t kill men. It does not make you less a man.
To me, it makes a complete man, which in turn creates a happy home.
I am Boluwaduro Adeleke aka Mum Boiz, and I believe house chores should be done by both the man and the woman to create a healthier home and family life
Thank you
About her: Boluwaduro Adeleke is a woman of deep wisdom whom I admire so much, she is a Christian and an aspiring motivational speaker. She studied mass communication and also a trained teacher who is passionate about her job. She has a deep passion for the girl child education. She is a wife and a proud mom of two handsome boys.
