“As a community we started making by-laws to ensure that men take interest in what their wives are doing”
A story of community change from Cross River state
In our community, women are known for breaking and carrying firewood from nearby farms. Their husbands are not worried because women are known for carrying heavy loads on their heads. Husbands mostly enjoy playing draft and most of them leave the house chores to their wives. It is common to see a woman carrying twenty-five litres of water on her head as well as carrying a baby on her back.
When we participated in CIET meetings, the men as well as women had the opportunity to watch a drama about pregnant women and their care during pregnancy. As a community we started making by-laws to ensure that men take interest in what their wives are doing.
Presently, it is not common to see a pregnant woman a carrying heavy load. Just yesterday in the street, I saw a pregnant woman carrying a very heavy bundle of firewood. I sent somebody to call her to where I was sitting. When she came with the load, I asked her to drop the load there and then and to go and call her husband. When he came, I cautioned him seriously and made him carry the load of firewood on his head while kneeling down. After much pleading by him and his wife, I asked the man to carry the load himself to their house just to make him feel the pains the wife was passing through. I believe that all those people who watched the incident yesterday learned a great lesson.
This has made men live with their wives as is expected of them – with love and care.
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