Women And The Right To Stay At Home

It is International Women's Day. I have watched some videos about the day and this year campaign through UNWomen is #TimeIsNow .

It has been decades of struggle. Women everywhere in the world have been voicing, hoping and fighting for gender parity in many aspects of life. Economy aspect I think is the greatest issue followed by health.

#TimeIsNow should be a milestone for human to stop discriminating women. NOW. Not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow, not in any future time.

Talking about economy aspect, many women are working moms to support the family. Some working moms even have to work abroad and it is quite common here in the place I live. I understood not long ago the meaning of 'leaving' in terms of working abroad. When I spoke to a kid and she/he said that the mother was 'going' what she/he meant was working outside the country. Mainly to Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong or countries in Middle East.

I actually feel sad to hear about kids grow without their mother's presence. I had written about Kids From Unhappy Family, however there are some understandable reasons for those moms to work abroad and leave their kids behind.

Who take care of the children she left? That's the biggest concern. Apparently the dads and the grandparents look after them. We may see dads stay at home, some by doing something to earn money, some don't do much but merely stay at home. What a shame, I guess. The responsibility to make money for the family lies on the husband's hand not on the wife's. That way, it is not something good to see.

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Children, in the other hand, grow up with the grandparents' values. I witness some moms don't really come back to their family year after year. Some left their toddlers and see the kids again when they are teenagers. Economy is still the greatest magnet to draw those moms away from their families.

I don't want to judge the moms for not coming home, but I feel pity about the kids, the husbands and the family. How could a real family run without the presence one of the members? Is there a 'family' after all?

#TimeIsNow. I think why not re-think about it again? Re-think about moms being the breadwinner for the family. Re-think about putting the responsibility to husband's back again. Re-think about finding a way to stick together as a family.

It is International Women's Day. The day when women speak out about their rights. Voicing the right to stay at home and embrace the kids? Why not?

This blog post is part of #girlpowerhop, a blog hop hosted by Aurora Hikma, in honor of women worldwide, on International Women's Day. Click this link to read the rest of the posts!

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