children increases the odds by 91 percent for male household heads and 145 percent for female household heads to be part of the labor force.

“You need to take care of your kids. Sometimes after you get married, your husband tells you to quit.”

- Female youth, Khartoum, not working outside the home

# _Household chores_

In patriarchal societies that subscribe to the male breadwinner-female caregiver model, women are first and foremost wives and mothers (or, until they come of age, daughters and sisters) whose duty is to care for their male relatives. This means assuming responsibility for all household chores. As discussed in preceding sections of this report, in patrilocal societies, marriage results in women moving from their homes to their husbands’ homes. In Sudan, both women (67 percent) and men (81 percent) think the husband should have the final say in all decisions concerning the family (Afrobarometer 2019). In addition, 57 percent of both women and men agree that “in general, it is better for a family if a woman has the main responsibility for taking care of the home and children rather than a man” (Afrobarometer 2019). This was strongly confirmed by the focus group discussants from the qualitative research that was conducted for this report. When asked if it would be possible for a woman to ask for help with her household chores so that she could pursue employment outside the home—or because she had already assumed employment outside the home—the response from the focus group participants, irrespective of their gender, age, geographic locale, or employment status (working versus not working), was an overwhelming “no.” There was slightly more receptivity to the idea among the focus group participants in Khartoum, though most of their statements were couched in the conditional.

There are few exceptions that would make it possible and acceptable for a man to help a woman with household chores. For example, one woman from Khartoum who was not working said, “Yes, it depends on your conditions, he may help you in feeding the children. If you are busy.” The one exception to the overwhelmingly negative response was if the woman was ill. Then, it was acceptable for her husband to help her with “spreading bed sheets” or “bathing kids.” That said, one woman from Madani who did not have a job said, “If I told him that I am sick, he will tell me that I am pretending.” The reasons the focus group participants gave as to why men could not, or should not, be asked to help women with household chores fell, for the most part, into one of two categories: (a) that is not done here, that is, in Sudan, and (b) he would not agree to this arrangement. These are conditioned responses that stem from Sudan’s patriarchal customs that are discussed in Section 5. For example, with respect to the first category, a male youth from Khartoum who did not have a job said, “I don’t think you do this. No one do this in our country.” A male youth from Madani who did not work said, “Yes, here in Sudan we have beliefs that do not allow men to work at home.” However, a female youth from Nyala who was working said, “Yes, there are women who ask their men to help them in household responsibilities. But it’s rare.” With respect to the second category, that is, the husband would not agree to this arrangement, a woman from Khartoum who was not working said, “He will never accept, impossible.” A man from Madani who had a job said, “No, she doesn’t dare to ask for something like this.” Overall, the most extreme responses, meaning those that offered the least flexibility with respect to household chores, were offered not by adult men, as one 48