The Women Safe House Sustenance Initiative, a non governmental organization, has stressed the need for housewives, and women in unpaid labour to be paid salaries in a bid to be freed from poverty and attendant violation.
The NGO spoke during its dissemination programme entitled, ‘Advocacy for women in informal and unpaid employment,’ stressing that government should create a policy that could make life easier for women in view of their vulnerability.
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The programme coordinator for the NGO, Dr. Omowumi Okedare, lamented the plights of women of women in abusive marriages, noting that the experience of those who are compelled not to work or who are conscripted into family businesses without being paid is distressing.
Expressing the desires of women to aspire and achieve their personal goals in life beyond their roles as wives and mothers, Okedare said the NGO aimed to enlighten men, community leaders and other stakeholders on why women should be allowed to work and get adequately remunerated like their male counterparts.
According to Okedare, an interview conducted by the NGO for some women in parts of Ibadan North and Ibadan Northeast local government council areas of Oyo State revealed that women were largely deprived and violated while some of them are forced into unpaid labour.
She said, “Women in informal sector and unpaid care works should be given a monthly allowance that would be like salary because oftentimes it is not the woman that doesn’t want to work, it is the husband that says oh, just be a housewife. So, if it’s the man that has told the woman to be a housewife, the man should be responsible enough to place her on a salary.”
She explained that beyond being a wife and a mother, women have dreams and aspirations. “One of the ways to achieve this is when a woman works and earns an income for themselves. All men should allow their wives to work. If the man is not going to allow the wife to work, he should place her on a monthly salary.
“The unpaid care works come in different forms. For example, some women work in their husbands’ businesses. The man takes all the profit while the wife does not get anything. Some women take care of the elderly parents of their husbands and for that reason, they have to leave their jobs and the women do not get anything.
“Some women are full time housewives based on their husbands’ decision; they don’t get anything. This is one of what lead to gender based violence. The woman is not happy, she doesn’t get paid and doesn’t have her own source of income and the man that makes her to take that position is not taking care of her.
“The end-goal for this is to reduce gender based violence in all forms. This advocacy for women in informal and unpaid care jobs is a step to a bigger direction.
“The NGO, starting with advocacy, has engaged different stakeholdersacross sectors of the society, including community leaders and market association leaders. Some women work in the catering sector are paid N500. What are they going to do with N500?
“The NGO is coming out with a policy brief based on what the participants have said. We are going to engage the government by presenting what the people have said. Our hope is that government will start to make laws and regulations in that direction. We will start engaging government at the immediate community and we would eventually get those who will sponsor it at the national level.
“We are engaging at the local level for a start. The support we need from stakeholders, for those who are here today, is to step down this information first. Let everyone around them know about it and continue with the mindset. Another thing is that the government should be positively tuned to this and not stand aloof. The government should be responsive to our policy briefs and requests.
“The project was carried out in Ibadan North and Ibadan Northeast. We spoke to women whose husbands told to stay at home without any work to know their experiences.”
Omobolanle Adedeji, founder of Whoopy Yun Foundation, noted that there are broken homes and increased vices in the society as a result of deprivation of women.
She said that like their male counterparts, “Women have some levels of aspirations to fulfill. One thing that works for women is comfortability. When a woman is not comfortable, there will be rifts in the family.”
An official of the Centre for Women in Unpaid and Informal Employment in Nigeria, Oyo State chapter, Dr. Rosemary Odigbo, said women deserve some dignity as a vital part of the society rather being subjected to violation and poverty.
Adekemi Akintade, President, Association of Women Orientation in Sustainable Development in Nigeria, said that life would be better if the society allows the women to contribute their quota and get duly rewarded.
After a video documentary on the plights of housewives and women in unpaid labour, some of the participants at the event suggested ways forward in addressing the problem. They expressed the resolve to step down the information garnered at the programme in their various communities.
