Man Woman Child partnerships at work

Every child deserves to be born into a loving family unit. Two generations ago marriage was a lot about building and working towards a goal of togetherness within family. In today’s context the tables are turning a 360° as we speak. To many young women, marriage is not about the staying power it’s about over-powering.  In same sex partnerships, the tendency to play the designated part is stronger with responsibility as a key component. Young women are falsely given to understand that empowerment is being independent.  Yes and No. At times we take this to the extreme. We overload our partners with such weight that they tend to walk away quietly into another relationship or disappear completely to live an independent lifestyle. Divorces, separations and quiet tolerance is their only way of handling domestic unhappiness. Children bear the brunt of the split. 

Words - Shanthi Wijesinghe

Many young women say they feel trapped at the word ‘marriage’; they love the trappings leading towards it because the maternal figure is seen hustling and bustling in pure excitement but what the couple has not been told is how they need to navigate and adjust themselves. Freedom within and without is a two-way street. There was a time when women were restricted in the home especially after marriage. They had a place and a job criterion. They were to raise a family and lend their support to building upright values. They were to send their children out as good citizens who would do their parents proud. With academic education being enveloped to include women, we have found our wings no more clipped, soaring to heights beyond imagination zooming into the male domain. We applaud ourselves for being not only a spouse but a breadwinner heaping upon ourselves responsibilities of great magnitude. 

 If you were to visit a village home in our country you would witness the dedication and resilience of a woman with limited academic education who is striving and ruthlessly toiling to make her children into stalwart citizens. Children see this mother as their prototype. They build their lives around this forthright figure.  The commitment to family to raise children from the ashes to receive a state funded university education is a great achievement. This education although purported as free is not free of cost. You would see enthusiasm as a mother rushes from her employer to come home and cook a reasonably wholesome meal for her children studying for upcoming exams. Children for their part return home from sports practice in flip-flops with shoes in hand as it has to be protected for a long time to come. Mother has made it clear she has no income to support her child’s enthusiasm in sports. She is raising a child who understands and recognizes what hard work truly means. In a partnership family fathers lend not only their share of finances but also guidance, communication, best practices and guidelines on how his children should live in society. True partnerships are rare but they are ever present in this precious island. 

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