At The Fire place; Women and Men, Dialogue on Unpaid Home Care.

BY MOLLY KAMAKUNE

In Abid to raise awareness about unpaid home care, women leaders in Fort Portal City, in collaboration with the Voice of Toro gender desk, and Kogere foundation organized a community dialogue at the fireplace,” locally known as “Ekyooto”.

The “Ekyooto” was held on Thursday at Booma grounds Fort portal as part of the activities to commemorate the belated Women’s Day in Fort portal City this year 2024.

The event brought together men and women of various backgrounds and age to discuss and share experiences of Unpaid Home Care, tasks that often fall on households and communities, in particularly women and girls, and why these invisible tasks must be recognized and valued as work.

During the dialogue, women shared their stories, including instances of domestic violence, denial of rights, and being confined to traditional gender roles.

Betty mujungu, The Voice Of Toro Gender Desk Team Leader who moderated the dialogue said Unpaid care is key to the functioning of societies and to the survival and well-being of households, families, communities, and societies as a whole, enabling people to live, and thrive.

“Many households don’t think about valuing the time women and girls spend washing clothes, working in plantations, fetching water, collecting firewood, sweeping, cooking, taking care of children and other family members among others. All this load of invizible work is Rather taken for granted, and this is not fair”.

Ms. Mujungu said  Many  Women  start their day of Unpaid Home Care work at 5 am and sleep at 11pm.  This  amount of unpaid care work keeps women and girls so busy that they are more vulnerable to poverty,  physical and emotional burnout.  This limits women’s opportunities for paid work and is detrimental to their health and well-being.

“Reducing the amount of unpaid care work and sharing domestic tasks within the household, as well as amongst the private sector and government. will empower women economically because they will have more time to devote to self care, their families, and paid work.

Ms Alice  Basemera from the Kogore Foundation said embracing such gatherings promotes unity and mutual understanding between men and women in homes and the community.

“It is key that men  appreciate and value the work being left to  women at home, they need support. Though I have also seen some women  who tend to leave all the work to the thier husbands even when the husbands spend the entire day at work. Men and women need to support each other for a resilientfamilies,” She said.

Mr Rubomboo acknowledged the traditionally considered division of labor that set apart some responsibilities for men and those of women, but urged for a shift towards shared responsibilities within households since its a humane n good practice..

“Sometimes when men try to help women at home, some women think that the responsibility has shifted to the side of [the] man forever. Though we shall help them, they need not to forget thier responsibility in the family”  he said.

Ms Rose Bakasara opinion leader in Fort Portal City, stressed the importance of collaborative efforts between men and women to improve family livelihoods and said she is ever advocating for open discussions on equality within households, emphasizing the importance of joint planning to prevent violence.

Ms Linda Irene Mugisa, the woman member of Parliament for Fort Portal City, commended the organizers of the fireplace for facilitating constructive dialogue between men and women.

“We should recognize that a family is built by both a man and a woman, and it is their shared responsibility to ensure the well-being of the family and the proper upbringing of children. To create households free from gender-based violence (GBV), I suggest that husbands and wives engage in roundtable discussions within their homes. A lack of joint planning in a family often leads to conflicts and violence,” she said.

“She advised men to collaborate with their wives in fulfilling their responsibilities like paying school fees, as this would simplify tasks at home.

“As we commemorate Women’s Day, it’s crucial to address the remaining pressing issues affecting women and girls within households.  I appeal to men to set examples that future generations,  to learn from in building healthier families,” she said.