Breaking Tradition: Inside the Homes Where Ghanaian Men Carry Water, Cook Meals—and Share the Burden

By Rachel Marty

During recent field visits with the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), I had the opportunity to see firsthand how access to healthcare and traditional gender roles impact the lives and families in rural Ghana. ARHR is a network of local NGOs committed to improving sexual and reproductive health through a rights-based approach. Their mission is to ensure that women, children, and adolescents can access quality healthcare without facing financial hardship.

Our trip took us into communities where healthcare facilities are often hours away, and where daily life requires navigating significant logistical and social barriers. In addition to documenting families’ experiences with healthcare access, I also spent time learning about ARHR’s Gender Model Family (GMF) program—a community-based initiative aimed at challenging and transforming gender norms.

Traditionally, in these communities, women are expected to do almost all household chores, while men’s participation is often discouraged or even ridiculed. These customs place a heavy physical and emotional burden on women. The GMF program promotes shared household duties. In families participating in the program, we saw men carrying firewood, fetching water, washing dishes, and helping prepare meals. These may seem small, but they are significant shifts within the cultural context.

What stood out most during the interviews was the happiness expressed by both women and men. Women said they felt relief and less stress, while men expressed pride in contributing and feeling more connected to their families. It was truly heartwarming.

Thinking about this, I reflected on household dynamics in the U.S. While cultural expectations may differ in their form, women in many places still carry most of the household work, often without recognition of how it affects their well-being. A Harvard Health study notes that marriage generally correlates with better mental and physical health, but mainly for men. This indicates that while marriage offers clear health benefits for men, the same isn’t always true for women, especially when household chores are unevenly distributed.

Programs like ARHR’s GMF challenge that imbalance. By promoting shared responsibilities, they not only help reduce women’s health burden but also support more equitable and emotionally fulfilling family structures.