Barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen?
“YOU must be dreaming, how gal fi have bad man a do house cleaning?” are the lyrics to one of Mavado’s more popular songs. The song, titled House Cleaning, has become the anthem for many of our Jamaican men, and some women have been complaining that they are now refusing to do housework.
For centuries house cleaning, child rearing and cooking have been women’s jobs — as far back as the beginning with Adam and Eve. When God made Adam He made him the sole provider for the home and He made Eve the child bearer and “eager to please” housewife.
However, throughout the ages these specific roles have changed and women have become emancipated and independent. And with this transition some men seem to have become insecure and afraid for their own roles in society and the home.
An Observer article earlier this year, titled Study: Women’s high levels of education doesn’t impact promotion to boards, and quoting from a research paper, stated that “women were unlikely to be invited to be considered for board appointments without having attained at least a university degree, a provision clearly not required by men”. By this it can be deduced that men still see women as unequal and as being beneath them.
After all that women have accomplished, why do men still see them as inferior beings? Did Amelia Earhart fly solo accross the Atlantic Ocean to be criticised by men; or did Portia Simpson-Miller become prime minister to be looked down on by men, including those in her cabinet? It happened! Many people, men in general, said Simpson-Miller couldn’t do the job. Some said she was incapable of running a country, while some said she didn’t do the best job possible.
The truth is that she got voted into the position over a man which means that women are capable of doing anything men can. So the constant put down of women needs to stop.
Don’t get me wrong, a woman should cook, clean and take care of her children and husband but she should also be able to pursue a career without criticism. Career women who work until late hours of the night should not be criticised and judged by others. People who cry judgment tend to wonder if women who work until late in the nights or on weekends have no man or children at home to take care of. But if a man is to work overtime, it is seen as him trying to make some extra money to take care of his family.
It cannot be said that women have prevented some men from being stay-at-home fathers. Therefore, if a woman makes enough to take care of herself, husband and family, she should be considered the head of the home; thus leaving the man to do the house cleaning. And if both work to support the family, then both partners should split the housework and be seen as equal in the home.
Most modern women are not staying home, so men need to get this and start pulling their weight in the home.
Tasha-Gaye Tracey is a student at the Northern Caribbean University. Publication of the above article is a requirement for a Writing for Public Relations course she is pursuing.
