Linda Dede Nyanya Godji | March 28, 2024
News Brief
A couple in Accra, Ghana, is challenging traditional gender roles by equally sharing household duties. Charlotte Djweteye Osanyongmor Attah, a 35-year-old midwife, and her husband, Francis Attah, an auditor, start their busy days at 5 a.m., balancing work with caring for their children. Mrs. Attah says that they were both excited when she got a job immediately after graduating, and Mr. Attah’s involvement, particularly in childcare, eases Mrs. Attah's workload. She says, “I have peace of mind at work knowing I am safe at home with a supportive husband.”
A typical Monday morning for 35-year-old Charlotte Djweteye Osanyongmor Attah starts by 5 a.m., when her one-year-old son is ready to be breastfed and she needs to prepare breakfast for the rest of her family. Fortunately for Mrs. Attah, her husband, Francis, is equally busy in the mornings, helping to get their three-year-old daughter ready for school.
This busy couple gets an early start to their day because they both have jobs outside of the home. Mrs. Attah is a midwife with the Ghana Health Service and her husband is an auditor at an accounting firm in Accra. She works at the Otrokper Health Center in the Upper Manya Krobo District in the Eastern Region of Ghana, a two or three hour drive from Accra.
Her husband has helped out with home chores since the couple got together. But Mrs. Attah says that, since she began her midwifery posting two years ago, her husband has willingly taken on the primary care role for their eldest child, who is three years old, making sure she is bathed, dressed and ready for school. He drops her at school and picks her up, and, when he has time, prepares her breakfast.
Mrs. Attah explains that her husband took the initiative to care for their daughter when she was pregnant. He didn’t want her to be overly burdened with work as well as having to care for their daughter and their unborn child by herself.
Mrs. Attah says that they were excited when she got the job posting, particularly because she got the placement immediately after graduating. She adds: “My only concern was how to blend my early days at work with my daughter and my unborn child. But my husband came through. My family were scared he would not be able to properly take care of my daughter but he proved all of us wrong.”
She adds, “I have peace of mind at work knowing I am safe at home with a supportive husband.”
Though the couple don’t divide other household chores, Mr. Attah steps in whenever possible. He sometimes fetches water for the family for cooking and laundry.
Mrs. Attah says that her husband’s proactive involvement has reduced her stress and enhanced her work efficiency. Both parents get enough time to rest and have time for themselves and their children because the chores are done on time.
She says: “When your husband helps you out at home, you should let him know you appreciate what he does. I do not take his support for the family for granted at all. So I always show my appreciation to him. He has a busy and demanding job, but he has proven to me that a busy man can still support at home if only he wants too.”
Mr. Attah’s support at home has attracted negative comments. Mrs. Attah explains: “We live in a compound house, and people usually gossip about us. Sometimes the comments come from my own family. They tell me some of the things he does are for women, so even if he wants to do them, I shouldn’t let him.”
But Mr. Attah is not bothered by the comments. He believes that by working and helping together harmoniously, he and his wife create a supportive environment that eases the morning rush, enables a balanced start to their busy day, and eases the pressure of having just the wife do all the chores after work.
Aba Oppong is the executive director of Rights and Responsibility Initiatives Ghana, and an advocate for women’s and children’s rights. She says that most men are willing to provide support but don’t because of the stigma associated with performing roles that are traditionally considered as only for women.
Mrs. Oppong believes that men should be brought up from a young age to know how to do a lot of things at home, and to understand that there are no men’s or women’s chores. When this happens, she says, helping out their wives comes naturally and is not forced.
She says that society must move away from patriarchal expectations where a women’s job is everything domestic in the house whether the woman is working or not. She adds: “Some women after a busy working day are subjected to wash[ing] late in the night just to have enough time to carry out other equally important chores the following day.”
Mrs. Oppong says that, when women express gratitude to their husbands for their support, it goes a long way towards encouraging them to help more and for their colleagues to follow suit.
When asked if she has any advice for women about how to balance work at home and outside the home, Mrs. Attah says: “Every woman needs help. You can’t do it all alone and the first person to help you is your spouse if you are married. So please talk to your husbands about helping you because there is no reward for tiredness. If you get help from your spouse, you will always be happy working.”
This resource was produced through the ‘UCARE – Unpaid Care in sub-Saharan Africa‘ initiative, which aims to increase gender equality and women’s empowerment through a commitment to more just and equitable sharing of unpaid care and domestic work within the household and the family in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is implemented in partnership with Farm Radio International (FRI), UN Women, and The African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET) thanks to funding from Global Affairs Canada.
Photo: Charlotte Djweteye Osanyongmor Attah in Ghana, taken by Linda Godji