Noting the negative effects too much domestic chores have on their class work, most of the girls interviewed urged parents to stop overworking school girls so they can have time for studies.
By James Chatim
Several girls’ schools in Juba have complained over much domestic work given to them by their parents, saying it is affecting their class performance.
In an interview with The City Review, Mayo Girls’ Primary School in Konyo Konyo on Tuesday, said domestic chores are negatively impacting their classroom performance during the course of their studies.
Amira Edward Romano, a class eight pupil at Mayo Girls’ Primary School said though it is a cultural norm for girls to do domestic work, too much of it affects their performance at school.
She urged the parents to stop overworking school girls to have time for studies.
“We are affected by domestic work because we don’t have time to read and write or do our homework. This is because we have a lot of work at home like washing and sweeping.”
“We cannot get time to read or make other things even early in the morning we make tea for our young children at home. All girls in South Sudan are affected by domestic work which impacts their academic performance and may eventually force them to leave school,” said Amira.
However, she said this is worse when you are the only girl in the family because a lot of work is levied on them.
“Sometimes, even if you have your mother at home, still you can do too many home chores and other family work,” she said.
“So, I am telling parents to avoid and reduce the domestic work for girls to have time to read and make other things or favorites, like sports and other hobbies, not just working at home every day like animals,” she noted.
Another school girl, Amani Ladu Jada, a pupil of Mayo Girls’ Primary School echoed that girls do a lot of domestic work at home, including cleaning the house and washing utensils.
“So, there is no time to go and read. Girls do many things, they prepare tea and cook in which somebody has no time to study,” she expressed.
“Domestic chores affect girls’ academic performance because they work and are busy all the time. They are given many home duties and tasks such as. They help people at the house and care for the family activities,” said Amani.
She appealed to the parents to give them time for studies, relax, and not all the time working.
“You can get some girls even if they don’t go out from their home because of the multi-tasks they are performing.”
Entrenched social and cultural norms in South Sudan emphasize the role of girls as wives and mothers, placing the burden of domestic work almost exclusively on their shoulders and reducing the time available for girls’ education.
Over five years, GESS Community Mobilisation (CM) has taken the conversation about girls’ education to communities across South Sudan, targeting the people who control or influence decisions around the lives of girls.
With girls growing up against this backdrop, the burden of domestic work is placed almost exclusively on their shoulders, diminishing the perceived value, and resulting time and prioritisation given to their education by parents, alongside any support and validation for education provided by communities.
These constraints have been exacerbated by economic collapse, food insecurity, and ongoing conflict, which, among other things, increase the risk of underage girls being married in exchange for dowry.