HOUSE HELPS AS SLAVES?

In Nigeria today the issue of whether or not to get a house help has become a more thorny issue. Let me examine the topic in different perspectives.

For the housewife, they need a helping hand to run some errands in the house, to act as a support for many activities in the running of the home. It has also been noticed that housewives are the people that abuse house helps mostly. Some wives see the maids as a competition in the house, and as such mete out punishment to clip their wings even when it is unnecessary. However most housewives are now wary of hiring female house helps since some irresponsible men sleep with their house helps and in some cases, take them as second wives. This will mean the powers enjoyed previously by the wife will now be shared.

For the social workers, they see the issue of house helps as a rot that has taken root in the society. They see it as a means of exploitation of the young woman used as a maid. They allege child labor, victimization, malnourishment, and overworking of the young woman.

For the man of the house, they see house helps as helpers in the house, to help out the kids with difficult tasks and accompany them to and from school.

So how do you see house helps? Should the practice be encouraged or stopped completely?