Should women become the head

When the tables are turned — that women should become the head — most men wouldn’t come to terms with it. Their honest reason would be that God made men the head.

Adjuring men that their wives would wield 100% or 50% leadership role at home, and see the raging fire which would blaze. That power — ‘being the head

Read full articleof the house’ — men won’t sacrifice it for anything. As far as they draw breath they would continuously be the head of the house. Nobody is fighting men over this.

Supposing the conversation is stretched further, negotiating with men to help with house chores, especially washing, cooking, cleaning, running errands, etc., they would deny them, only a few would do it. That would even be on an ad-hoc basis.

Being the head of the home (or in any field) is a huge title. God won’t confer this great title on men if there’s no huge responsibility attached to it. One would wonder why a political appointee would mess up but government takes the blame? It’s because the responsibilities on his (government’s) shoulders are far greater, all-encompassing. Father for all, as we do say.

Men aren’t made the head of the home just because they have balls, muscles, or can swallow big morsels of “fufu”. There are responsibilities needed to be performed. A man’s paying of the bills doesn’t come an inch close to pregnancy and childbirth. Let’s get serious.

Just like you’d feel not obliged to go to the kitchen and prepare all the meals for the week, the same way women aren’t obliged to spend a dime on the family. As for the Muslim men they know better, that washing, cooking, etc., aren’t made compulsory for women. And even to some extent — when there’s divorce, women are paid to breastfeed their own children.

With all these privileges at their dispensations, women do these freely out of love. In our communities, some (or most) women are at the fulcrum of sustaining their homes. No two ways about that. We’ve to commend them. Pat at their back for a good work done because there’s a difference between doing something out of your own free will, and doing it mandatorily.

The crazy economy of Ghana doesn’t help men shouldering the bills all by themselves. Okay! But it helps when a woman is made to resign her job if she’s earning more than the man because he feels his leadership role is under threat? You (a man) want help with home finances, and you would not humble yourself too. Which kind of stubborn proud life is this!?

Others would also say that women use marriage to escape financial responsibilities. And what do you want them to do, even if that’s the case? If you’re Muslim and hold this view, check yourself. It’s like one is saying that when one travels for two days outside, one would not shorten one’s prayers, while one has the right to do so.

And note that women are not to be forced to work. But if they want to work and earn a living, they cannot be stopped from working, not until the work they want to do is against Islamic statutes. Yes, if men are to be trusted that they’d discharge their obligations wholeheartedly, no woman would even bother herself with work.

It’s true that marriage is about two consenting people coming together to live their lives, but there are individual responsibilities. And they’re sacred.

So do yours. And let the woman do hers, too.