“Are You Going to Work After You Have Kids?”: A Question No One Asks Men
Ever wonder why nobody asks men if they’ll keep working after having children? Imagine walking into an office, newborn in arms, and the first question isn’t “How are you?” but “Are you sure you’ll still want to work?” That question, for women, hangs in the air like a verdict. For men? Fatherhood barely registers. Take Aisha, for example. She had her first child via C-section and took the twelve weeks of statutory maternity leave she was entitled to under Section 54 of the Labour Act . Twelve weeks later, she returned to her office, still sore, sleep-deprived, and hormonally unstable. Meetings she used to lead were reassigned, projects she nurtured were “taken over,” and no one seemed to notice she was still recovering. Her body ached, her mind was foggy, and she was juggling a newborn feeding schedule like a part-time job she didn’t sign up for. By week two, she was exhausted, anxious, and quietly questioning whether anyone had actually considered what “recovered” meant. ...