The word "paternity" leave might sound strange to most people around here since what we are familiar with is maternity leave which involves granting a woman absence from work to take care of child birth related duties. Judging from the incomparable and significant roles women play during childbirth there has never been a reason to argue the necessity of granting women maternity leave. Though the duration of this leave might differ due to the organisation a woman is working for or the laws that exist within the state a woman resides in but notwithstanding women's entitlement to the leave still remains the same.
When it comes father's aspect of it which is paternity leave, quite similar to maternity leave but in this case it involves granting a man/father a leave from work in order to perform his responsibility as a father. Naturally when it comes to women during the pregnancy stage at work an employer would already be noticing how she struggling with some task that might require her to strain herself, with the reason for the lack of strength being visible, any sensible employer would even be the one to suggest the need for maternity leave. Though there is a standard time in a woman's pregnancy stage when the need for maternity leave is paramount but then the capabilities of each woman to shoulder the struggle of pregnancy differs.
With men there are no such evidence such as struggling with pregnancy at work or pregnancy being the reason for lack of strength. With no evidence to prove that he is in need of a paternity leave no one would think of suggesting and also if a man doesn't openly disclose to his boss or colleagues at work that his wife is pregnant no one would know. Which means it is left to the man to apply for the leave when the time for it is due, that begs the question, should men be granted paternity leave just like women? Like I said earlier, the roles of a woman in child birth can not be compared to the roles of a man, both parties will go through physical and psychological struggle but in different ways.
The fact that the struggle differs does not make a father's role during childbirth less significant. Judging from the roles of father's during childbirth which involves the need to constantly provide for his pregnant wife, this to an extent might also include his physical presence most especially during child delivery. I have witnessed women struggle with activities on their own during pregnancy and all I could think of is "where exactly is the father of this child? Is he not aware of the current condition of his wife? To prove the need of physical presence of men around their wife in performing task that might stress them physically.
I'm still of the opinion that women have no business with house chores or going to market during childbirth, those things should naturally become the duties of the man especially during late stage of pregnancy. It is not as if some men are not sensitive to such matters but then they are stuck doing one thing or the order to provide for the needs of their family. A necessary responsibility that is preventing men from assisting their woman when she is in need of it the most.
Judging from the visible criteria that makes woman eligible for leave during pregnancy, men don't have such luxury. Which means they can only become eligible for leave when they apply putting them at the mercy of their employer, I mean there are some employers that would even consider it to be ridiculous asking questions such as "Are you one the carrying the pregnancy? Which shows how insensitive some employers can be towards the role of men during childbirth which might influence their decision to grant paternity leave when requested for.
Now it falls down to governmental policy that guides the conduct and right of both the employee and employer The labour Act" but sadly in Nigeria there is barely any provision for paternity leave apart from few days that are granted to civil servants which is mostly granted towards the day of child delivery. There are some organisations that recognises the need to grant fathers paternity leave as long as it meets the requirements of their terms and conditions.
I'm not being insensitive to how it will greatly affect the work force of the country if men are granted same duration for paternity leave like women but sadly even the duration being given to women for maternity leave according to the provisions of the labour act is not long enough, I mean what good will 12 weeks of maternity leave do to women, out of which 6 weeks will be used before child birth, the remain 6 weeks after childbirth and she is only entitled to 50% of her salary.
Granting a man half of that which is probably 6 weeks would it be enough to cater for the needs of his wife? Well I guess something is better than nothing, at the long run no man would want to stay longer in paternity leave while receiving 50% pay. Which is one of the reasons why men wouldn't want to request for paternity leave in the first place knowing fully well that the 50% would not be enough to cater for the needs of their family.
From the above argument, I strongly believe that men deserve to be offered paternity leave just like women though the conditions might differ. Moreover A lot of men would find themselves in a tricky situation while considering applying for paternity leave or not but at least they would know that the provision for paternity leave is available and it is their choice to apply for it or not.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Paternity leave" in hive learners community.
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