DAD DOES THE HOUSEWORK

When Pham Duc Viet’s wife moved to Taiwan nearly ten years ago to work as a maid, he had to do all the household chores and raise his two children. His wife worked as a maid in Taiwan and earned more than she could in the rice paddies of the Vietnamese village of Vu Hoi. Viet also did his regular work as a farmer and a carpenter. Now, the extra duties are second nature for Viet. It’s that way for many of his male neighbors. Hundreds of women have left the village. They got better- paying jobs in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. They send all the money they earn back home. “It’s not a big deal,” Viet said. “I’m willing to work more so that my kids can have a better life.” They use the money his wife earns for their children’s education. They also bought a furniture workshop next to their house for Viet to make furniture to sell. “Cooking is the most difficult household chore”, some of the men said. But it was never an impossible one. “In a farming family like ours, dinners are very simple anyway,” said Vu Duc Hang. Hang’s children helped with cooking and cleaning when they were at home. But now, they are at college. They paid for college with the money their mother earned and sent. “It was hard to be both a father and a mother, but it’s something we do because we have to,” Cuong said while sitting in his living room. “Everything is for our family,” said Cuong’s wife, Pham Thi Lien. She worked in Lebanon as a maid and later in a factory. “We both had to overcome difficulties.” Pham Ngoc Thuy is a Vu Hoi village leader. “In Vietnam, we feel proud of ourselves because for us women and men are equal. And when women go to other countries to earn money for their families, most men are ready to do all the housework in the house themselves,” he said. Viet, the farmer and carpenter, said that he was looking forward to his wife returning home from Taiwan for good. “I don’t mind farm chores,” Viet said. “But once she comes home, I’ll be more than happy to let her take over the household chores.”