Gladys Frimpong, a fashion designer, has advised women against being just housewives without being financially sound.
According to her, the going gets tough when one remains a housewife without any source of income.
She added that it gets worse when children come in.
For her, although being a housewife has its advantage, including being capable of running
Read full articlea home to the maximum, the downside is being unable to cater for one's personal needs if not financially stable.
A worse-case scenario is when the husband's income is insufficient to keep the house running.
Sharing her experience with Akosua Dansoah on YouTube, Gladys noted that she wanted to become a fashion designer but her dreams were dashed when she got pregnant after completing Junior High School.
She became a housewife for years before pursuing her dreams.
"After giving birth, I realized being a housewife was not going to help me beause whenever I had a need, I'd have to ask my husband and when he's unable to provide it, I suffer."
She said the circumstance pushed her to learn a skill to cater for needs, support her husband as well as train others.
Gladys Frimpong stated it took her four years to master the art of sewing.
She was 40 years old with three children when she started to learn the trade.
In her words, "My third child was only three months old when I began learnig how to sew. Although it was not easy taking care of three children while learning a skill, she braced the storm and sailed through."
"I started with women who were way younger than I was. My Madam (trainer) thought I wouldn't be able to complete the training. While I sailed through, most of the young women I started with stopped at a point," she added.
She expressed gratitude to her madam for not giving her preferential treatment because she was a married woman with children. She said that it made her give her full attention to the training.
"I went with my husband to seek admission. So my Madam was aware I was married. After the first three months, my Madam told me I can't bring my marriage in my work. When it's time for work, it's strictly work. You cannot use your husband as an excuse. That really helped me to be focused on work."
Gladys Frimpong went to establish other businesses on the side.
Comparing her housewife days to her career days, Gladys Frimpong said she felt happy and content that aside from getting her needs, she's able to raise some money to support the home
"The changes are many. I used to depend on my husband but now I'm able to support him financially."
She strongly was of the notion that young women should have something going for themselves, money-wise, before getting married.
