Before dawn breaks, Pikwo Felly a 55-year-old mother of eight,is up at 6:30 a.m.to her daily routine. She cleans the compound, walks1.5 km away to fetch water, prepares mealsfor her household members that include her elderly mother and then heads off to the gardenwith her husband where they spend about five hours tilling the land. With a load of firewood on her head, Felly will normally walk the familiar road back home alone with two hoes in hand as her husband does not immediately return home after the garden work.
Although Felly’s children have been a great help during this lockdown, often helping with cooking while she goes to the garden, her workload has remained high since the demand for food and other household resources like firewood and water has become higher compared to before the lockdown where the children were always at school.
Felly has never expected her husband to help with domestic work and the lockdown did not bring new hopes. “Is there any Man in Alur land who does care work?” She asks.
“I am even grateful that he allows the children, especially the boys to help me do care work such as cleaning the compound and washing utensils otherwise domestic care work is for me as the wife and the girls.”