They live on the money made by their wives, and feel humiliated because of that. Suicides among men have become more frequent. Some older and younger men said that they secretly helped their wives but were afraid to be seen doing the laundry or sweeping the floors because they would be mocked. Both men and women spoke about domestic violence against women, the different forms of violence, and the reasons for it. In some countries physical abuse may have peaked and is on the decline, because of women s willingness to walk out of abusive relations and support themselves, as well as work done by NGOs to raise awareness.
Domestic violence remains widespread, however.
Now the woman buys and sells stuff irrespective of the weather and earns the income for the family, while the man is sitting at home and takes care of the children, fulfilling the traditional women s work. This is not right, this is not good. In Bangladesh, women living in areas where NGOs have been active said they have greater freedom to move outside the home. Negotiating change in deeply rooted, identity-defining roles is not easy. Marriage counselors have emerged as important even in some rural areas in Malawi.