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Covid-19 Lockdown: The working mothers have got a chance to bond with their families.




Image: Kwenzokuhle Trevor Masinga.

Mdunge Skhumbuzo

Since the inception of Covid-19, many workers are remotely working from home. This new normal has enabled the working mothers to stay at home and bond with their families. 


In African culture, the 'married women' are all expected to glow the house and prepare food for their family members. In recent years, all these expected norms have slowly died because most women are currently working in the urban areas. The Covid-19 lockdown has reinstated the conservative family norms. Under lockdown, the mother's aprons are wavering in the kitchens and the garden yards. 


Maids cannot replace the position of mothers


Most working mothers have employed a maid in their house. These maids are carrying out the household duties that were ordinarily done by mothers. The job opportunities have shifted the norm. Now, working mothers have no time to cook for their families. When it comes to husbands, the touch of the dish cooked by his wife will never be the same as the touch of a dish cooked by a housemaid. This discernment is not only judged by taste-bud, but it is also 'judged' by the husband's gleeful eyes when he sees his wife kneel in front of him to take an empty plate. The Covid-19 lockdown has rekindled that spark to the married husbands. 


The bond between mother and child


The working hours of women have taken away the bond between mother and child. Many children are currently raised by housemaids and grandparents. As a result of work, most working mothers have neglected their children. For township dwellers, getting to work on time means you must rise in the dark. In winter, it becomes worse. The working mothers' ordinary leave while children are still asleep. After sunset, they rush into public transport, hoping they'll be at home while children are still awake.


Under lockdown, children are now able to stay with their working mothers. As the lockdown slowly moves to level 3 on the 1st of June, everything will adapt to normal. Almost 60 percent of workers will return to work, and the housemaids will, therefore, deputize the mothers' position.  

  

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