A beautiful term has been coined for women- a baby machine. Women have been subjected to discrimination across all ages and it is still waging strong. A woman had her duties outlined for her once she is born. She graduates from a daughter to a wife and then a mother. As a wife she can only be considered as being fulfilled when she performs her duty of procreation and this brings to mind the story of Nnu Ego in Buchi Emecheta's "The Joys of Motherhood", what was expected of her, how she went about her ordeals and how she became a perfect example of a baby machine.

Men have a house but a woman turns it into a home, and as such they are to be celebrated. It is quite erroneous to assume that the only thing a woman is useful for is procreation and men are simply to provide for the family. You only know the value of something only when you have lost it, don’t lose your wife before you realize she is much more than a baby machine because you will be shocked when you find out how tiresome it is to care for those children you dumped on her.

However, men are not the only one guilty of subjugating their spouse, some women are too, because it has been said that people will make of you what you’ve made of yourself. It is not surprising that the moment some women get married, they turn themselves into old women around the house, even though they are still in their mid or late twenties. Perhaps these kind of women are of the opinion that their youthfulness ends the moment they get married and enrolled themselves into the category of old women. Their sole aim in life is then to get pregnant and fulfil their responsibility. As a woman, your youthfulness continues in matrimony, let your husband see traces of the woman he chose to marry out of the many out there.

One of the mistakes women make is to ignore their husband once they become mothers, deliberately turning themselves into a baby machine. Many a husband has complained of being ignored for his child by his wife in the sense that she gives her attention to the child while neglecting the father. This has been a cause of rift in many families, where the husband gets jealous of his own child because his wife has made him feel unwanted. Some women are only concerned with having children because of the belief which has been drummed into them since childhood as being what was expected of them.

Women are not to be regarded as baby machines, not by their parents, themselves nor their husbands. The function of a woman in a home is more than taking care of the house, her husband and children. The belief that has set women apart for discrimination must be rejected and the men should see other importance of their wives apart from procreation while the wife should know how important she is in the house and that her duties is not limited to her children. 

Oppression occurs in different forms and it is hypocritical to blame someone for it when you are practising it as well. A society where discrimination is enthroned will find it impossible to grow. Take care of that helper in your home and those wonderful issues.

● Yetunde Lois Ogunshola is a Nigerian, living in the city of Ilorin. She is a University undergraduate of the prestigious University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, where she is studying English, with her specialty in Literature. She is an author and has published some stories online.