Gender And The Changing Division Of Labour In The Namibian Household: A Comparative Study Of Families In Ongwediva Constituency Urban And Rural

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the changing gender division of labour between individuals of Ongwediva rural and urban households. The study involved 18 participants who were selected from 6 different families, 3 families from Ongwediva rural and 3 families from Ongwediva urban. These families were selected through snowball sampling strategies and the sampling criteria were that the family members should be married, legally and stay together. In addition to that an extra member of the family was also selected from each of the families that were involved in the study and in depth interviews were used as data collection instruments. The research design was qualitative, explorative and ethnographic in approach. Findings of the results of the study indicate that there are marked differences in the gender division of labour among the rural and urban dwellers. On the rural population, the gender division of labour greater gender inequality with the greater burden being on women taking care of household roles, while males seem not to play a significant role in helping out on household tasks and roles. Men in urban settings tend to have a more enlightened understanding of division of labour and they are involved in helping their women in household roles and tasks even if they are doing paid work that brings money at home. In addition to that, the study also revealed that the factors that contribute to differences in division of labour between the rural and urban population are education, socialisation, culture, modernisation and religious beliefs. The study recommended a need to strengthen policies on gender, gender imbalances between males and females most specifically aligned to the rural and urban population, making them to understand the roles that each individual should play in the household. Furthermore, the study recommended that churches needed to play a pivotal role in levelling the ground on the imbalances that already existed in gender division of labour, giving a burden on the rural women community. Moreover, the study recommended awareness campaigns on gender division of labour in both rural and urban communities.