Why have Somali women become household providers?

[Onyxbrainster]

The more we have moved away from traditional households and marriages the more problems it has caused for our community. According to some users on here they are seeing Somali women with babies strapped on their back working outdoors. And some saying youtubers are even becoming providers. I’m going to get dislikes from users on here, but every man who agrees to marry a woman has agreed to provide. It’s literally in the religion too.
So why are so many married or unmarried Somali women having to work 9-5 jobs and take on the household duties at the same? You even see Somali women who decide to stay at home or choose not to work being shamed by other women in our community. Why do you guys think this is happening?

 

[Sol]

Just one of the spouse cannot provide entirely for a single household in this day and age most Somalis of my generation only have 1-2 kids (with 3 being considered a lot) because of the sheer cost of living in our current environment.

 

[Caaro]

these are just baseless statements. Somali men are more employed than Somali women.

Just think about it, there tons of Somali male taxi drivers, uber drivers, factory workers, truck drivers, and many other menial jobs.

Have you ever seen a somali women work in a place not somali owned even?

 

[astronaut]

The more we have moved away from traditional households and marriages the more problems it has caused for our community. According to some users on here they are seeing Somali women with babies strapped on their back working outdoors. And some saying youtubers are even becoming providers. I’m going to get dislikes from users on here, but every man who agrees to marry a woman has agreed to provide. It’s literally in the religion too.
So why are so many married or unmarried Somali women having to work 9-5 jobs and take on the household duties at the same? You even see Somali women who decide to stay at home or choose not to work being shamed by other women in our community. Why do you guys think this is happening?

I'm not sure why it's happening but it has to stop. I've seen way too many Somali women that become mentally ill due to all the stress that's put on them by their family.

 

[pirater]

In the west, a non educated taxi driver can not provide for a whole family

 

[Boqorada]

Have you ever seen a somali women work in a place not somali owned even?

The khat industry which is very lucrative as well as the cosmetic and retail industry is dominated by women. Taxi drivers especially in somalia don't make much.

 

[newguy0123]

In the west, a non educated taxi driver can not provide for a whole family

He could in the 90's and before that...not anymore though.

 

[Onyxbrainster]

In the west, a non educated taxi driver can not provide for a whole family

You are proving my point. A lot of the men on this website will justify this. Even if a man is a taxi driver he should still provide and find a way. A man who makes his daughter or wife provide and takes money from them is not a real man and has failed in his duties. Unless he is of old age or has a disability and cannot work.

 

[Onyxbrainster]

these are just baseless statements. Somali men are more employed than Somali women.

Just think about it, there tons of Somali male taxi drivers, uber drivers, factory workers, truck drivers, and many other menial jobs.

Have you ever seen a somali women work in a place not somali owned even?

It’s not a baseless statement. A lot of Somali older women even are working even if they have children. Where are their husbands? Or sons? I’m usually seeing the eldest daughters having to work. This isn’t right and you can’t sit here and say what I’m saying is make believe when we see this happening quite often in the American/Canadian Somali communities.

 

[Onyxbrainster]

Just one of the spouse cannot provide entirely for a single household in this day and age most Somalis of my generation only have 1-2 kids (with 3 being considered a lot) because of the sheer cost of living in our current environment.

Okay and so what? We need to encourage our men to be strong household leaders and providers. Somali men should go out there and go to school and do whatever they can to be financially stable. Wallahi idc any man who makes his wife go 50/50 is not following the quran/sunnah.

 

[Boqorada]

Its nothing new either. It's been like this since the civil war, they've been the breadwinners and taking on the role as both mother and father since.

[

Somali Women Cashing in on Business - Somalia

News and Press Release in English on Somalia about Recovery and Reconstruction; published on 22 Apr 2013 by IPS

reliefweb.int

Somali President "Women are the backbone and breadwinners of Somali society."

H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, today joined celebrations on the occasion of International Women's Day, praising Somali women as the "backbone and breadwinners of Somali society".

waagacusub.net

Somali women breadwinners

Small business grants are turning Somali women’s lives around in Mogadishu, as they become entrepreneurs and start their own businesses.

www.nrc.no

 

[Xaruun]

There’s nothing wrong with going 50/50 but at least split the chores instead of making your wife work a double shift.

 

[newguy0123]

Okay and so what? We need to encourage our men to be strong household leaders and providers. Somali men should go out there and go to school and do whatever they can to be financially stable. Wallahi idc any man who makes his wife go 50/50 is not following the quran/sunnah.

You bring up alot of good points, but you have to realise what world we living in nowadays. This capitalistic society has made it almost impossible for one man to provide for his whole family.

Back in the 80's and 90's a man could be working in a factory and provide for a family of 3-4. Now even if you have a master degree you are out here competing for entry level jobs.

How did this happen? 3 important points:

1. Automation: automation has basically made it very hard for an un-educated man to make a living to support himself let alone an entire family. Because everything they do can be done cheaper, quicker and better by AI.

2. 2008 Crash, outsourcing and digitalization: Alot of jobs were lost after the economic crash in 2008. Alot of people that held senior positions had to fight for entry level positions in the matter of months. This meant that companies could now expect high qualified candidates to fill positions meant for entry level positions at 1/3 of the cost. Before digitalization people had to write and print out their applications and hand them/send them in....now all they need is a laptop and can apply for any position with one click. So employers have a wider range to select from and can pay even less.

3. Housing: Getting proper housing is damn near impossible in any big city now...because the demand is too high and most of the new buildings being built are high end bachelor pads. That means the demand for the already low supply of housing increases, which then drives prices up...its a never ending cycle. This can be seen in cities like New York, London, Minneapolis and so forth.

As you can see. This is not just something effecting the somali family....its a worldwide thing. Even with schooling and experience dosen't secure the ability to provide for a family of 3 nowadays.

 

[Caaro]

The khat industry which is very lucrative as well as the cosmetic and retail industry is dominated by women. Taxi drivers especially in somalia don't make much.

cosmetic and retail? Bro the only time I see Somali women in Retail is in those clothing shops, somali warehouse and other stuff.

And they only run those shops because it wouldn’t make sense for a man to be selling abayas and stuff.

Those businesses are usually invested in by the community. I remember my parents putting $30K in a new Somali restaurant to open up, they put that money in with a bunch of other Somalis and it’s usually the women running it only because they know how to cook.

So it’s not fair to give credit solely to Somali women for businesses like that when they didn’t start it by themselves.

And I’m talking about the diaspora, not Somalia. I don’t have as much experience and knowledge in Somalia’s business systems to make a comment on that.

 

[elite1337]

Okay and so what? We need to encourage our men to be strong household leaders and providers. Somali men should go out there and go to school and do whatever they can to be financially stable. Wallahi idc any man who makes his wife go 50/50 is not following the quran/sunnah.

1 provider and a decent life in the west is unrealistic these days

 

[adventurequestworlds1.0.2]

You are proving my point. A lot of the men on this website will justify this. Even if a man is a taxi driver he should still provide and find a way. A man who makes his daughter or wife provide and takes money from them is not a real man and has failed in his duties. Unless he is of old age or has a disability and cannot work.

A man is not taking money from his wife and daughters or daughter they work together and provide together nothing wrong wife working and doing 50/50
Example i want woman tht works and do the 50/50 both financial and house works cuz i can cook for myself clean my cloths clean half the house and do other things in the house for myself i dont need woman for those so what my wife gonna do at home sit all day and eat the food i bought and do nothing tht
I see tht as useless wife tht i cant benefit from her but she benefit from me alot

 

[Lostbox]

The more we have moved away from traditional households and marriages the more problems it has caused for our community. According to some users on here they are seeing Somali women with babies strapped on their back working outdoors. And some saying youtubers are even becoming providers. I’m going to get dislikes from users on here, but every man who agrees to marry a woman has agreed to provide. It’s literally in the religion too.
So why are so many married or unmarried Somali women having to work 9-5 jobs and take on the household duties at the same? You even see Somali women who decide to stay at home or choose not to work being shamed by other women in our community. Why do you guys think this is happening?

You've been fight for (more like white women have been fight for you) 50:50 for over 100 years. Now you work as a man pay have the bills 50% plus take care of the house 50%

so your doing 50:100

 

[Macalin dheerow]

The more we have moved away from traditional households and marriages the more problems it has caused for our community. According to some users on here they are seeing Somali women with babies strapped on their back working outdoors. And some saying youtubers are even becoming providers. I’m going to get dislikes from users on here, but every man who agrees to marry a woman has agreed to provide. It’s literally in the religion too.
So why are so many married or unmarried Somali women having to work 9-5 jobs and take on the household duties at the same? You even see Somali women who decide to stay at home or choose not to work being shamed by other women in our community. Why do you guys think this is happening?

You just gotta have to accept that there is dysfunction in our communities, we are not perfect by any means so you will see bad situations and people. This includes somali men not providing for there family. Its unfortunate but it is what it is.

 

[trucel]

You seen the rent lately?

 

[KobeBryant]

You seen the rent lately?

Million a month plus utilities