You are on page 1of 3

This response paper is based on the weekly reading for 2nd week of May titled Housework looms for

Spanish men By Katya Adler BBC News, Madrid I was amazed to read that Spain has drawn up a marriage contract in which men has to share 50% household chores and the care of children and elderly family members. Failure to do so will affect the terms of a divorce settlement. In this context many districts in Spain have started publishing Manual for Housewives-Househusbands with advice on delicate problems such as How to turn on the washing machine. The government even spent 1.7 million (1.1m) on a humorous campaign in 2003 to raise awareness of the problem. The slogan: 'Of course you know how to clean. Why don't you do it?' Statistics show that Spanish women spend up to five times longer on housework than their husbands. If they have a full-time job, they still do three times more housework. A study in 2005 by the Centre for Sociological Investigation concluded that Spanish fathers spent an average of 13 minutes a day looking after their children. And only 19% of Spanish men thought it was right for mothers of school age children to have a full-time job. One can easily guess from these statistics that situation in most of the countries in the worlds is pretty similar to that of Spain. The social structure of our society-of course a patriarchal one, train us in a way where girls have to be good at cooking, cleaning, sewing and in making men happy. It really makes me angry on Sundays, where a man is sitting while reading a news paper, ordering cup of tea after every ach 20 minutes and the her women putting a smiles on her face, keeping aside her broom, prepare and present tea with some biscuits. Even this role of household women is stereotyped as a role model on most of the soaup and drama serials on national and private channels. Yes, I noticed that too- also in the advertisements- how can we change if we keep

showing one aspect of womanhood only- and of even young men not getting up and doing their own work! Many women even refused and criticized that marriage contract for equal share in household work in Spain is irrational. One can trace many reasons behind it. Women have got their own reasons for doing all household work on their own. In my own case, whenever I tried to help my mother in cooking or cleaning, she refused by saying that it is not meant for a boy, and when I insisted more, she said that someone may watch you doing this and it will bring shame on you. Even she tried her best to make me avoid any thing that is not cooked by her and when I asked her the reason, she smiled in a childish way by replying that I do not want to miss a single piece of work that is related to you. Mothers are wonderfully strange! but should not be exploited for it! I think it is best strategy on their part to have a larger share of household work especially where they do not work outside their home. Home is their realm and they do not want to share it any way. They consider it their security and a source of prestige because if men have to work in house on equal basis then they will also demand equal financial contribution from women, from purchasing a car to changing room curtains well it is often demanded from the womens family or as part of her dowry now!. As in case of Spain, less than 25% of women are economically active and are mostly financially dependent on their husbands. So unless they are employed or given an economic share for doing household chores, it would be difficult to engage men in these household activities. Not clear So by concluding the argument, to achieve gender parity in household chores, many changes in socio-cultural environment and legal issues are required. Labor laws should incorporate family or household working time and should offer flexible working hours duties, paternal leaves for male at birth of a child and right to return to work after a long absence due to illness of family members

etc. It should be included in curriculum and pedagogy to inspire youngsters from early stages of life in schooling. And most importantly, mothers and fathers? (because the father is a role model too) should teach their children from very beginning both male and females from boiling eggs to cleaning toilet and cooperating with each other in other household activities to break orthodox household work norms that are unequal for women.

Grade 3/3

You might also like