A girl-child's domestic chores; child labour? or acquiring a traditional woman's apprenticeship

Who has ever seen the agony of a woman in a maternity ward, having just delivered a girl-child instead of a boy-child she had hoped to get to solidify the marriage?  She breaks down and cries, she knows what it means to get a girl-child in a newly wedded marriage. Who has even seen a mother treating her daughter different from a son? While a son can engage in leisure activities at home, those household chores, some very difficult and demanding for a young prospective mother-to-be that is already identified at birth, must be done. Domestic chores are performed by girl-children below the relevant minimum age in some homes in our societies.

The stigma related to girl-child's domestic work at home is hidden and very difficult to tackle it. The domestic duties are seen as integral part of family life of girl-children growing-up at home environments and therefore are seen and regarded in a positive light. But usually it is the excessive work that interferes with the girl-child's development growth; biologically, health-wise and her ability to learn effectively at school is wholly undermined, thereby failing to achieve those goals that can transform her life completely, reduce poverty levels in her live and that of the family, the community and the country benefits too.

She has to be groomed for marriage, but the girl-child has work to prepare herself for the coming inevitable: marriage. Did this girl-child enjoy her childhood? The answer we all know: no, hell no. Most girl-children missed their childhood because of the traditions that tell them to be brought up differently from the boy-children. The tradition and norm will tell the mother to "abuse" her daughter by perpetuating those traditional female roles under the pretext that the girl-child is acquiring part of a woman's apprenticeship for adulthood and subsequent marriage. The cycle of poverty is perpetuated in this marriage of the girl-child as per expectations of the parents.

Growing girl-children in rural areas usually have restricted spaces to move on; school, water wells, firewood fetching and sometimes and not always they are sent to growth-points for grocery shopping. Outside those defined spaces, a girl child could be reprimanded by the parents and relatives. It is taboo to move outside those defined spaces. This cultural norm impedes a girl-child's development adversely. A girl-child cannot engage her mind to recreate or extend her mental development outside her defined environment. Such girls-children do not perform well at school; their personal development is inward looking. How on Earth can she development her potential if that investigative mind is blocked by her defined spaces. Her home environment is sometimes oppressive and limited.

Teen pregnancies are prevalent. One in three girls in developing countries gets pregnant below the age of 18 years. This aspect of teen pregnancies imposes heavy costs in girl-children educational development as they drop school. When they become pregnant, the next step is early marriage. Child brides in Zimbabwe are very common. Child brides and early marriages have heavy effects for girl-children's socially, physically emotionally and they undermine all efforts of girl-child empowerment. The expectations on girl-children are so high, they should get married is the mantra. It is in marriage where they get respect, are respected as members of the community.
   
Pervasive home environment harms a lot of our growing girl-children in their adolescent stage. "If you spare the rod, you will get a prostitute!" To regard a girl-child as a potential prostitute degrades a child's emotional development. This keeping of the girl-child as a subject in a home premises retards any kind of development. Not only are girl-children corporally harmed at home but at schools equally. It is well established that corporal punishment of school children in schools, outdated as it might be, is still meted on children of all ages. The current Zimbabwe legislation that prohibits teachers from using corporal punishment on children will go a long way in giving girl-children some decency in their already troubled lives.  

Poverty and the feminization of poverty is the root cause of girl-children as domestic workers legitimately. (push and pull factors) Most parents due to limited education or absence of it do not see any harm in "abusing" girl-children by giving them house duties some of which are heavy loads; fetching water in big tins, fetching firewood, pounding corn to make mealie-meal and the actual cooking for many members in the family. A girl-child domestic work is indeed child labour and it should be condemned as such.

Most children who engage in excessive domestic work are usually children from extended families who were adopted into the family for many reason, death of parents or divorce. Such children are made to work to pay off their stay in the family. There is also an illusion that such children can only benefit as they will be given the opportunity for education. In retrospect, such children do not perform well at school because of overtiring work-load they have to do every day, and very little time to rest and do some home-work or reading to improve academic performance.  Some of the children in these adopted homes do not get enough food to eat, let alone a balanced meal for a growing child. Their accommodation, where they sleep is very poor too.

It is not only domestic work some children in adopted families suffer from but are constantly humiliated, given degrading verbal treatment including beatings. They are sexually abused in some cases; if the bad treatment becomes disproportionate they leave these adopted homes and prefer to live in the streets. Ask any street-child, or the reason why it is challenging to take back streets-children and offer them normal home lives, is because of the freedom they experience in living in the streets.

The world has woken up, they know too well where proper investment lies; it is in investing on the education of a girl-child. A girl-child should never be undermined by whatever traditions and cultural values in our societies. There is enough evidence that education of women brings durable development in the community and the country as a whole. Women and girls need diverse skills and the opportunity to cultivating their soft skills to be leaders of their communities. It is education of girl-children and young women that will unfold their potentials for leadership and their abilities to make informed choices. A girl-child is as valuable as a boy-child. We speak of gender equalities to mean that a boy and a girl are equal, coming from the maternity ward!

When we celebrate the International Day for the Protection of Children that is celebrated in most countries let us think more about our girl-children in our societies, let's love them and protect them including Mrs. Bona Mugabe-Chikore' child too; Simbanashe.  Most children in Zimbabwe do not deserve the life they are living, they deserve better!