I was taken aback recently by the reactions of a lot of people, particularly women, following the announcement by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a 14-day paternity leave to make men properly bond with their new-born babies or adopted ones, not more than four months old.
She explained that the paternity leave was for men in the federal civil service and contained in the revised public service rules and added that the bonding was important to help the newly-born or adopted baby properly bond with the father in the early period.
Paternity leave is the leave that is approved for men, when their spouses or wives have given birth to a new baby, or if the couple has just adopted a baby of less than four months.
The approval by FEC is, however, not a novelty.
In 2014, Lagos State government set the pace when then Governor Babatunde Fashola approved 10 days paternity leave for any male civil servant in the state whose wife had a new baby.
The state government had cited opportunity to attend to the developmental needs of the child as reason for the approval and also jerked up the maternity leave from three months to six, to allow the nursing mother give their child exclusive breastfeeding for the period.
Though paternity leave is not as widely available as maternity leave, it is very important.
A 2019 report by Unicef which analysed legally protected leave for new parents in 41 of the world’s richest countries, found that 26 offered paid paternity leave, while 40 had paid leave for new mothers only.
While paid paternity leave is usually shorter than maternity leave, it is often better paid, with 16 countries offering full pay for those on average earnings.
The report noted that as attitudes change and countries increasingly start to recognise its importance, access to paid paternity leave is improving.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the number of countries with statutory paternity leave provisions globally grew from 40 to 94 between 1994 and 2015.
The most generous countries for paid leave for fathers are Japan, South Korea and Portugal, according to the Unicef report. The least is the US – the only country analysed not to offer any kind of paid leave to mothers or fathers.
Some countries that offer paid paternity leaves include Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Spain, Iceland, Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom.
According to UNICEF, children are sure to get a better start in life and parents are better able to balance work and home commitments in countries that have family-friendly policies. These include paid parental leave, support for breastfeeding and affordable, high-quality childcare and preschool education.
Welcoming a new member of the family is a life changing moment for many parents, especially first time parents, as many adjustments have to be made. Many researches show that paternity leave leads to better outcomes for the family, including increased bonding, higher parental satisfaction rates and heightened engagement.
Some women experience difficult child births that make them ill, while some experience post-partum depression and need support to heal, recover from child-bearing associated stress and any baby blues they may be experiencing and who better to provide such support than their spouses.
It is because of the benefits and support, women in particular stand to benefit from paternity leaves that I found the reactions of some of them to the news ridiculous. I am one naturally inclined to take the side of women on many issues but on this one, the women goofed.
In a women only WhatsApp group, one woman remarked that “Men that should go and hustle are being given 2 weeks for Isi-Ewu, beer and pepper soup binge jamboree! Nonsense!” another one said “Even women spend much of the maternity (sic) doing other things to bring money in. They should stop passing useless laws and concentrate on more important and enabling laws. Nansense (sic).”
The way I see it is different and I align with one woman who commented “Commendable indeed. At least the men will partake in the multitasking of baby care and home care for the two weeks.”
A family, even by its elementary definition, comprises a mother, father and their children. The process of raising a child, just like the process of making one, is not the responsibility of the woman alone but that of the couple.
Men have a right to bond with their new born babies just like the mothers and this should be encouraged by all. Such leaves also help people function better in the work place, as attested by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM).
We know too well how absentee fathers have affected the lives of many children, who go on to become menaces to the society.
Be that as it may, I have some concerns about this announcement, which I hope will be addressed in the days to come.
For instance, unlike in the case of Lagos state where the government made it clear that such entitlement is only for a man’s first two babies, the federal government has not made this distinction, which has left those interested in the issue with a few questions.
One among them is how many times a polygamous man can go on paternity leave in a year, in the event that he has four wives for instance, and they all have new babies within the year.
The others are whether the paternity leave would be paid or not and if it is for 14 working or calendar days.
While we await answers to these posers, let the men enjoy their paternity leave and spend it in a way that opens the eyes of the women to its relevance.
