“It is the tasks connected with the home that is the fundamental tasks of humanity…if the mother does not do her duty; there will either be no next generation, or a next generation that is worse than none at all.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Clearly a mother is essential to human life, but her role involves far more than just bearing children. A mother is defined by one writer as a "primary protector for each child's health, education, intellect, personality, character emotional stability." One function is that of educator of her children; a child's first words and pattern of speech are usually learned from its mother. Thus, a person’s first language is often referred to as his mother language. A Mexican proverb says that “Education is breastfeeding," and this honors the important roles of mothers.
Statistic gathered by the United Nations show that in many countries, more than half of mothers with children under the age of three are employed to bear the burden of bringing up their children by themselves. This could be because their husband has left home to find employment in another city or country; for example, due to economic problems and unemployment, almost 2/3 of the men in Africa have gone abroad in search of work, and mothers are left alone to raise their children because the husbands have abandoned them.
A primary challenge for many mothers today is working to help provide financially for their family; moreover, for one reason or another, some also have to rear their children without another's help. Many husbands in less developed countries move to more prosperous lands for employment, leaving their wives to raise the children.
Another challenge is a relatively high rate of illiteracy among women. In the northern part of Nigeria, people always say that women are not meant to study and that all those women can’t help their children with their homework. A custom among Hausa and Ibo of Nigeria is to sell their daughters into marriage at the age of 12 years and 13 years. Often girls are sold to a much older man who wants a second or more wives.
Another harmful custom (among many) is for only fathers to discipline sons in the family; women are inferior to the males. In Ondo State in Nigeria, little boys copy their fathers and they say to their mothers: "You can’t tell me what to do; if my father doesn't tell me, I won't obey.”
And yet another custom is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - the operation that removes part of a girl's genitals. The custom was publicized by Waris Dirie, a special ambassador for women's rights in Africa. According to one report, between 8 and 10 million women and girls are at risk of undergoing FGM. The beliefs that underlie this practice are that some think that female genitals that produce pleasure are evil or that they make a girl unclean and therefore not fit for marriage; removing them stands as insurance of the child's virginity and faithfulness. Failure by the mother to accept this custom may incur the wrath of her husband and local community.
The Nigerian documentary, “Repudiating Repugnant Customs”, reveals that many mothers have courageously refused to subject their daughters to it when there is no legitimate reason, religious, medical or hygienic, to support this painful practice. Indeed, mothers all over the world have successfully protected and educated their children in spite of many challenges. But are their efforts truly appreciated?
On March 8, 2003, the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said: “Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role. When women are fully involved, their benefit can be seen immediately, families are healthier and better fed, their income, savings and re-investment go up. And what is true of families is also true of communities and, in the long run, of whole countries.”
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