The word ‘father’ conjures up different images to a child, such as that of a strong man who will love, protect and provide for her needs. Traditionally, fathers are viewed as providers, protectors of their wives and children, role models for their children and contributors to their general wellbeing, especially during the girls’ development. Research has demonstrated the connections between fathers and their children. However, the position of a father in the family cannot be determined in terms of his absence or presence, considering that a father’s presence does not mean father involvement.
For instance, In South Africa, many children are raised without fathers, while in the United States of America (USA), the large proportion of children who grow up in single-parent families is widely regarded as a major social problem. Clearly, such magnitude of father absence could have serious repercussions on the development of a country in relation to education, health services and social services.
Fathers contribute towards their daughters’ development by maintaining order through the application of rules, provision of guidance, becoming role models, serving as a link between the family and other individuals, community organisations and the outside world. Thus a girl-child who is brought up by her mother loses out on the father-daughter relationship, which “has the potential to shape interaction patterns, that surface as women enter into adult college relationships. On the other hand, [mothers raise their daughters and love their sons.”
Nevertheless, the interaction between father and daughter may be difficult because of the manner in which men are raised. Research shows that men are either not expected to communicate emotionally or are less-involved emotionally or less communicative. It has also been noted that daughters are reluctant to talk to their fathers about emotions, assuming that they may not be interested or to share intimate concerns with them.
Research has also shown that the general belief among Africans is that a woman whose father is absent from home will not be able to have long-lasting relationships with men. As a result, it has been observed that some African parents dissuade their sons from marrying women from such families. In addition, the continuous robust internet discussions on the topic: “Don’t ever marry a woman who doesn’t have a father” and posted messages, saying women who were raised in families with absent fathers are “not ideal marriage material” to attest to the negative attitudes harboured by some individuals worldwide.
Different concepts are utilised to describe the position, roles, functions and responsibilities of a father in the family. Some of the common concepts used are father, fatherhood and fathering. But being a father denotes maturity and confers status in many societies and sub-cultures. There is no agreed upon definition of fatherhood and thus people understand the concept differently. Fatherhood is related to manhood and it is commonly understood as the social role that men assume to care for their children, or as a human and cultural role.
In the 1990s fatherhood was influenced by “father involvement,” which included the first domain of paternal involvement or engagement (i.e. direct contact, care giving and shared interactions between father and child)), followed by the less direct form of involvement, namely accessibility (i.e., a father’s presence and availability to his child) and responsibility (i.e. activities involving the father’s direct care and/or provision of resources for taking care of the child).
Today Gender
…with Thelma Asantewaa
