By Delisa Thwala
The addition of a new child is a life-changing event. The weeks and months after a new family member arrives are tumultuous; no matter the family situation.
Men often find themselves faced with a choice between working or staying home during the first few months when a new baby is home. This has led to numerous calls for men to be granted paternity leave in Eswatini. The calls have intensified, having been first made in 2021.
Over time, men have voiced out how they want their employer’s support so they can be good dads and good employees without having to sacrifice one for the other.
Paternity leave is the time a father takes off from work due to the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a new child. In some workplaces, paternity and maternity policies differ. In others, both maternity and paternity leave are treated the same under a blanket ‘parental leave policy’.
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Offering paternity leave is important not just for families but also for employers. A 2019 study found that letting fathers take two or more weeks of paternity leave helps improve family relationships for years.
Fathers who take paid leave report feeling closer to and having better relationships with their children. And, another study found that men who take paternity leave are less likely to divorce their partners than men who are unable to take paternity leave.
Founder and Executive Director of Kwakha Indvodza Tom Churchyard has been at the forefront of the call for men’s paternity leave, mentioning that paternity leave might boost a father’s relationship with his child and allow him to experience the joy of being a new father.
He further said men’s hormones could shift both before and after a child’s birth and that there was existing evidence that fathers’ brains reflected the transition to parenthood as well.
He said paternity leave was the right of a father, partner of a pregnant woman, surrogate parent, or someone who was matched with a child by an adoption agency within 26 weeks of service as an employee to take up to two weeks of leave in one block.
According to the internet, the leave must be taken within 56 days of the birth of a child or 56 days of the expected date of birth if the child is born early.
When explaining his point, Churchyard said fathers also needed to be part of their children’s lives and not make it a gender role activity.
He made an example of how his organization kept away from strict gender norms by allowing their male workers paternity leave.
“Our male workers are given four weeks leave after they welcome a new baby; this is to allow them to be part of the process with their families and help the new mothers,” said Churchyard.
In 2002, California passed the first paid parental leave law in America. Parents can take off up to 10 weeks after birth, and receive up to 60 per cent of their wages, plus job protection.
The weekly payment increases each year and is scheduled to hit 67 per cent of regular wages in 2022. South Africa’s new parental leave laws were signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa and took effect from January 1, 2020.
The new legislation means that all parents, including fathers, adopting parents, and surrogates, are now entitled to 10 days of unpaid parental leave when their children are born.
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Meanwhile, Churchyard also revealed that in the country, 22 per cent of children lived with both biological parents under one roof.
Echoing Churchyard’s sentiments was United States Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission John Moyer, who said reaching young fathers and educating them on the significant role they played in the lives of their children, families, and communities was vital.
“There is no question that a present and engaged father contributes to cohesive, resilient families and, in turn, builds cohesive, resilient communities. Indeed, the impact that a good father has on families and communities is hard to overstate. Children see it all,” he said.
He further said: “Know this is true, and as parents, caregivers, and community members, it bears reminding. Children see how we treat each other and they model that behavior.”
In addition, he said fathers should spend time with their children because if children watched positive male role models respecting women and embracing gender equity, they internalized these lessons and would be good parents themselves.
Meanwhile, the United States of America (USA) Embassy revealed that there was no proper record of data collected on children living without their fathers in the country.
Moyer said there was almost no data for Eswatini on the impact of fatherless children in the country.
He said, however, if the US experience was any guide, the impact was deeply troubling.
Moyer mentioned that in the US, girls who grew up in fatherless households were seven times more likely to become pregnant than teenagers.
“Children who grow up without a father are four times more likely to live in poverty, and twice as likely to drop out of high school. These statistics are stark. They paint a clear picture of how the absence of fathers negatively impacts children’s lives,” he said.
Worth noting was that the US Embassy works with Kwakha Indvodza and many other organizations to address gender-based violence issues, empower women and girls, prevent sexual assault, and address the power imbalance that feeds cycles of abuse and violence.
According to a World Policy report Eswatini guarantees only two weeks of maternity leave to mothers of infants, far fewer than the minimum 14 weeks outlined in the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention (2000).
As of 2019, 185 countries globally guarantee some paid leave to mothers for infant caregiving; 157 countries guarantee at least 12 weeks, 114 countries guarantee at least 14 weeks, and 52 countries guarantee 6 months or more.
This includes policies reserved for mothers, and policies that guarantee leave that can be shared between mothers and
fathers.
The report further mentions that 44 African countries guarantee at least 12 weeks of maternity leave, while 29 African countries guarantee at least 14 weeks.
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“Of 12 of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries guarantee at least 12 weeks of maternity leave, while 8 SADC countries guarantee at least 14 weeks,” reads the report.
Worth mentioning is that Eswatini does not have legislation guaranteeing fathers leave to care for new infants of the 107 countries globally that had paid leave policies in place to guarantee new fathers’ time off with infants.
This includes policies reserved for fathers, and leave that can be shared between mothers and fathers.
“Eswatini numbers among 113 countries globally and 44 countries in Africa that guarantee mothers a minimum wage replacement rate of at least 80% for maternal leave. Among the 107 countries that guarantee fathers some length of paternal leave globally, 66 countries guarantee minimum remuneration at 80% of fathers’ wages or higher,” reads the report.
It further states that 24 of the 25 African countries that guarantee paternal leave do so at 100% of the fathers’ wages.
