Women working outside the home?

[Djamila]

I was planning to share this anyway, but a wonderful conversation with Maize in another thread gave me the enthusiasm to transcribe it all today.

Muslim Voice did a special investigative report about working women, and I'm going to share a small part of it. Three Muslim women were profiled - two who chose to work outside the home, and one who chose not to, and they were asked to explain why they made the choice they did. Here are their responses, and afterwards I'll have some questions for everyone - as usual.

Bekrija Saric, 42, Tourist Agent

"Before the war, I did not work outside the home and I was quite contented to be a housewife. My husband provided well for us, and our three children, and we lived a comfortable life. It wasn't until after the war, when I was widowed, that I first worked outside the home. It was, in every sense of the world, exhilirating and ****** addictive. A whole part of my being burst to life as though it was waking from some extended rest. I've been mentally and emotionally expanded through working outside of the home and, looking back across my memories, I can't believe I didn't make this choice sooner."

Islama Begovic, 54, Baker

"It wasn't really a choice, it was just what a woman did in those days. Sure, there were women who stayed at home but we all rolled our eyes at them, even all those years ago. I worked washing dishes at the Hotel Europa when it first opened and then I got married and started a family. There were more doors open for married women than for God****ed unmarried women back then, I suppose no business owners wanted to deal with angry fathers blaming them for giving their daughters enough money to avoid marriage. I started as a chef's assistant and after a few additional years I opened my bakery. It was just the path my life took, and the choice to work wasn't one I consciously made, it just happened."

Zafika Hadzihasanovic, 56, Housewife

"In those days, it was a shameful thing for a woman to work outside the home. It meant that her family was very poor or perhaps that she, as a woman, was not capable of finding a productive husband. Being a housewife was also more difficult then as well, I know I worked as hard as any woman sewing ****ing tableclothes at some factory. We had to haul water, chop wood, keep the house clean, care for the children, care for the mosque. It was really difficult work, but it was women's work, and that it made it rewarding. And now, the children are raised and gone, and I'm enjoying my rewards."

*****

So, what do you think of the choices these women made and the reasoning behind their choices?

What impact does women working outside of the home have on the women, and on society?

And for the women, would you choose to work outside the home or within it, if given that choice?

 

[evearael]

So, what do you think of the choices these women made and the reasoning behind their choices? I don't have objections to any of them.

What impact does women working outside of the home have on the women, and on society? I feel that the decision to work verses staying at home is an intensely personal one and some people are happier in one lifestyle than the other. That said, so-called women's work is still important and needs to be taken care of and I really don't care who does it as long as it gets done.

And for the women, would you choose to work outside the home or within it, if given that choice? I have worked a great many interesting jobs (like doing accounting and scanning tunneling microscopy) and I am so much happier at home with my daughter. It is hard work, but it is very rewarding. These years with her are precious and I will never get them back.

 

[Booko]

"In those days, it was a shameful thing for a woman to work outside the home. It meant that her family was very poor or perhaps that she, as a woman, was not capable of finding a productive husband.

That's what things were like in my mom's generation. When Mom first went to work part-time in the school cafeteria, just a couple of hours a day while we were at school anyway, Dad looked at it as a sort of insult to his manliness because it implied he couldn't provide for his family.

Really, she just wanted to get out of the house, and she was working with neighbor lady friends of hers and it was more like getting paid to attend a hen party.

What impact does women working outside of the home have on the women, and on society?

There was a good book called http://www.amazon.com/Second-Shift-Arlie-Hochschild/dp/0142002925/sr=8-1/qid=1169264653/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0288949-2408618?ie=UTF8&s=books][/I]The Second Shift.

Check out the basis thesis of this book in the description. It shows the effect it often has on the women.

I think it's better to have women more involved in public life, though. It tends to balance things out and dampen the too high testorone levels that would be there otherwise.

And for the women, would you choose to work outside the home or within it, if given that choice?

It depends on how old the kids are, and what kind of work. My kids will be grown up soon, and I don't plan to go back to a 9 to 5 corporate job in some office. I'd much rather call my own shots. I can tutor sciences rather easily (pays well too), give music lessons (pays less well) and pick up some consultling work on the side. Those are all options I'd rather go for.

At this point I'd rather spend half my time doing some work *at home* and the other half doing the housework (for me I have to do more cooking than usual-- who has to make their own bleedin' ketchup, mayyonaise and mustard in this country?)

 

[MysticSang'ha]

So, what do you think of the choices these women made and the reasoning behind their choices?

What impact does women working outside of the home have on the women, and on society?

And for the women, would you choose to work outside the home or within it, if given that choice?

1) To each their own. It sounds like they are happy, and that they are not causing undue suffering on their families. I am happy for them, then.


2) I think generally speaking, it reinforces the idea that women are productive and contributing members of the local economy besides acting simply as patrons. They can manage establishments efficiently and can offer products and services (keep your mind outta the gutter, y'all) to the community. No harm in that.


3) I hold mostly the same answer as Booko and evearael, and that is while the kids are young, I'm here at home. We have a quite modest income despite the fact that Steve has a good job, since our culture mostly seems to support a dual-income household. But it's the lifestyle that we prefer. Life is not nearly as hectic as, say, my cousin's where everyone seems to be everywhere at once, and by the time they all get home, they crash or they retreat to their own private corners. I also have time to do crafts and to fix most of our meals from scratch (yes, even the bread, which I'm freakin' good at).


When the kids are grown, Steve and I have plans for me to open a business owning and operating a dance studio. That's when our dynamic will change dramatically, as we are assuming, but we like that kind of transition when Steve is preparing to retire.



As far as my cousin's life that I'd mentioned, she and her husband say they like it. To them, it's living life to it's fullest. It's just not for us.



Peace,
Mystic

 

[michel]

And for the women, would you choose to work outside the home or within it, if given that choice? I have worked a great many interesting jobs (like doing accounting and scanning tunneling microscopy) and I am so much happier at home with my daughter. It is hard work, but it is very rewarding. These years with her are precious and I will never get them back.

Nice post!

My wife woud agree with you. She has had ..ahem..a few jobs in her life.

Let me see; supermaket teller; waitress at a hotel dining room, Police officer (in Gibraltar), store detective, accounts clerk at a small furniture store, Police interpreter (in England), P.A to a Financial advisor with Rothchilds, Secretary in admin at the local hospital, then the same job at a private hospital, worked in women's fashion at a very expensive local store, and "personal shopper" in the same store..........:cover:

I guess that's why I married her; she knows so much about so many jobs.

When we first met, I accidentally left my Dunhill lighter on the table at which we were sitting. When we went back to the table, I noticed the lighter was missing; I just thought "Tough" - but not Marie; she went into "policewoman mode". Before I knew what was what, she had interviewed people sitting and standing nearby, got a description of the person who had "accidentally" put the lighter in his pocket, after having used it, found him, and got him to get my lighter back..............

I thought "I am going to marry that Girl!!!":bow:

She too, chose to stay at home for the kids (and has never regreted it).