Columns
were taught against.
The society expects men to take
responsibility over the welfare of their
family. As such, if a woman finds herself
as a breadwinner, yet not widowed, it’s
some kind of a predicament that needs
external help to get through it.
Moreover, for most women, it sounds
like switching places. To some it is like
they should go to work and the jobless
hubby raises children. And yet to another
group,it’s a continuation of gender roles,
despite any situation that is prevailing.
Before we point fingers at anyone, is
there anything wrong for a man to help
out on household chores, even when they
are still going to work. Worse still, is it
wrong to assist when you are not going
to work?
Again, isn’t it that marriage is about
teamwork where everyone is an equal
partner regardless of their financial
contribution to the home?
In an interview, Tatenda Chagonda, a
family therapist at Zimbabwe Institute of
Systemic Therapy (Connect) said the key
when faced with such a situation would
be to express to him what you expect in a
respectful way.
“Most couples that we counsel face
employment loss troubles. I once
helped one lady whose husband
lost his job only a year after
marriage. The husband kept
up what had always been “his
chores”, but the lady still came
home to a messy
apar tment,
which
s h e
found thought totally unreasonable
because she had work and school
responsibilities, whereas she thought her
husband had none,” he said.
“After numerous counselling sessions,
the husband opened up and told his wife
how he’d been applying for jobs all day
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