The push for longer paternity leave highlights the erosion of kin networks that have traditionally provided social security and childcare across Africa. In many rural communities, extended families—mothers‑in‑law, sisters‑in‑law, neighbours—still share the emotional and physical burden of caring for a newborn and the nursing mother. However, urbanisation, migration and the demands of formal and informal employment have weakened these support systems. Consequently, unpaid domestic work falls disproportionately on mothers, including those who are employed, who often receive little assistance from fathers.
Governments recognize this imbalance, yet maternity leave policies are far more generous than those for fathers. While women may receive 12 weeks or more of leave, paternity leave across the continent typically ranges from one to five days. Exceptions include Zambia (seven days), Cameroon, South Africa and Seychelles (ten days each), Burkina Faso (20 days), and Kenya and South Sudan (two weeks). In the East African Community, leave periods vary: Tanzania (three days), DR Congo (two days), and Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi (four days each). Advocates argue that longer paternity leave would enable fathers to support both mother and infant during a vulnerable period and could improve women’s employment prospects by reducing employer discrimination against women who are perceived as likely to be absent for childcare.
Despite these potential benefits, several barriers impede the adoption and utilization of paternity leave. In Rwanda, for example, “maternal gate‑keeping”—the expectation that mothers should manage childcare—hinders men’s involvement. A patriarchal culture reinforces a skewed division of labour, with women in rural areas spending up to seven hours daily on unpaid care work compared with one to three hours for men (Action Aid Rwanda). In Uganda, the law grants four days of paternity leave only to the formal sector, which employs less than 8 % of the working‑age population, leaving the vast majority of fathers without coverage. Moreover, enforcement mechanisms are weak across the region, and awareness of paternity‑leave entitlements remains low. The short duration of leave is also seen as insufficient to promote genuine care equality, and many eligible men in the formal sector rarely take the leave offered.
These challenges suggest that, in economies characterized by high informality and weak institutional enforcement, expanding paternity leave alone is unrealistic. African governments, particularly in Sub‑Saharan Africa, should therefore prioritize gender‑sensitive infrastructure that eases the caregiving burden. Investments in affordable, accessible, and non‑discriminatory early‑childhood development centres, play parks, public transport with priority for families, and breastfeeding facilities could have a more lasting impact on gender parity than paternity leave policies alone.
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