The fatherhood programme challenging gender norms
Meet fathers from Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco who are embracing the joys of caregiving – to the benefit of their families and themselves.
In many families, fathers share in the joys of parenthood, but far fewer share in the responsibilities.
UN Women’s Dare to Care programme is challenging that. The regional initiative in the Arab States region – funded by Sweden, Germany, and the Basque Country region – addresses long-held social norms that impede men’s involvement in caregiving and empowers fathers to take more active roles at home, especially around childcare.
Through social activities, mentorship, and peer support, these fathers have discovered the transformative power of being more engaged in care work: Couples who participate are reporting less gender inequality in how they spend their time – translating into more freedom and flexibility for mothers; fathers are gaining confidence and purpose; and children are benefiting from stronger emotional bonds with their fathers.
And these fathers aren’t keeping this progress to themselves. “I started discussing these ideas with my brother, and he has already attended four sessions with me”, says Mamoun Saleh, a participant in Jordan.
“Next Father’s Day, I promise he will be the one interviewed about his experience.”
Learn more about the programme’s impacts from the fathers themselves.
Strengthening the bonds between husband and wife, and father and daughter
Mamoun Saleh, a 55-year-old father of two daughters and two sons in Jordan, once viewed childcare and household chores as his wife’s responsibilities. Now, he’s her biggest advocate.
"I used to focus on my job only. I went home and slept after work. I spent very little time with my family – no time to connect or strengthen my relationship with them”, says Saleh.
After participating in the Dare to Care programme, through sessions organized by a community-based organization Athar, he gradually began to rethink his role within the family.
“Now, I am much more involved in parenting, and it has had a profoundly positive impact on my children's well-being."
"The advice and recommendations through the sessions really helped break down the barrier that men can't be involved in household and childcare work. Especially here in the Levant region, I feel like this was a tough perception to shift, but it's happening. I'm now sharing the messages I learned from the sessions with people in my community."
As Saleh began to take on more household and care work, his wife had more time for her own endeavors, including small-business projects she managed with their eldest daughter from home.
“We do everything hand-in-hand, both in her project and at home. Every night, we sit down over a cup of coffee and plan out responsibilities for the next day.”
Now the family sits together and encourages their eldest daughter to start her own project. (She named it 'Takder' after the Dare to Care programme’s name in Arabic.) “[We] discuss her goals and offer advice…It's a healthy way to connect with my daughters."
Dismantling outdated gender roles in families
“How can people expect a woman to take care of four children and manage all household responsibilities on her own”, questions Nady Ashry.
The 46-year-old father of two boys and two girls living in Fayoum, Egypt, reflected on the man he once was: a guardian of patriarchal norms. Ashry used to never get himself a cup of water or let his neighbours see him take his own laundry off the drying rack.
Not long after Ashry participated in the Dare to Care programme through the Gozour Foundation (an organization working with UN Women), his wife, Warda Eid, was briefly hospitalized. It became a test of what he had learned about the true meaning of partnership. “I cooked for our children. I did the laundry. I took the children to the nursery. I cleaned. I did everything”, shares Ashry.
As the couple started to divide household responsibilities more equitably, they found more time for each other and with their children. Ashry is committed to passing on these new values. “My sons do a lot of household responsibilities [now], because they see me modelling this behaviour. I made sure to pass this on to them”, Ashry adds. “It’s not okay for him to [always] ask his sister for water. Why wouldn’t he get it himself?”
Ending harmful myths about fatherhood – within this generation
“Traditions, not religion, promoted the belief that a man who shared household responsibilities was not manly enough”, says Azzedine Sbai, father of a 4-year old girl in Loudaya, Morocco. “Today, more people are recognizing that family responsibilities should be shared.”
Thankfully, the social norms that discouraged men from becoming more involved are starting to fade – and even his own perceptions of fatherhood have evolved over the years, Sbai explains. He and other fathers are taking part in sessions, hosted by UN Women partner Project Soar, that engage men in household and childcare work.
“We share things equitably at home”, says Sbai. “I think men must participate in domestic responsibilities. You cannot leave everything to the woman. It's too much for one person, and can cause stress.”
Sbai reflects on the values he inherited from his father, recalling how he used to see him cook tagines. He’s passing these values onto his own children: “There are some positive habits that you naturally pass on to your children. As for the negative ones, we should stop them with our generation – and not pass them on any further.”
UN Women’s TransformCare global initiative
Dare to Care is part of TransformCare, UN Women’s flagship global initiative that addresses the undervaluing and unequal division of care work to improve the lives of women and girls.
Already implemented in more than 50 countries across six regions – and grounded in context-specific interventions – the programme is advancing a transformative vision of care as a cornerstone of gender equality, social cohesion, wellbeing, and the realization of human rights.
By 2035, TransformCare has the potential to contribute to:
- Enabling systemic impact for 2.9 billion women and girls,
- Generating at least 260 million decent jobs for women, and
- Releasing more than 10 trillion hours of women’s and girls’ time.
