'I couldn't do it without my family's help': Aussie Arab women on how they strike a work-life balance

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Ronza Hankla, Roula Abou Ghazaleh and Dr Sally Kheiraldeen

In the third episode of the 'She' podcast, Manal Al-Ani explores the lives of Arabic-speaking women who said they sometimes felt 'guilty' or 'neglectful' towards their families. They also emphasised that they would not be able to continue working without the help of their families.


Working wife and mother, Rana Omar, said: "It is my duty to take care of the place I live in and keep it clean. The house is my kingdom."

She said she believed working mothers needed support from others. The support of her father and husband was like 'water that feeds a tree', she explained.
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Rana Omar
Asked how a working mother overcame psychological struggles, Mrs Omar responded that “a woman must face them.”

Another working woman, Ronza Hankla, said that despite her long working hours, she loved her work and enjoyed it. She said that rather than feeling fatigued by her work, it energised her.

She also said that provided a woman was healthy, she could find a work-life balance that "...did not affect the children.”
My husband supports me a lot.
Ronza Hankla
"I do not feel guilty or neglectful... if I do things with love and giving, I will do them perfectly and in balance.

“The taste of success comes from overcoming conflicts in our lives."
Dr Sally Khair El-Din, a general practitioner, told SBS Arabic24 that women could achieve a lot during the day by managing their time.

If working meant a woman's children became more self-sufficient, that didn't mean that she didn't care for them, she said.

During holidays and festivals, Dr Khair El-Din said she prepared Egyptian food, such as Mahashi, for her family.

For a working woman, the most important thing was that her husband encouraged her to work, helped her, and motivated her to continue working, she said.

"I don't feel guilty because I always try and strive to do everything that I can. As for the things that are difficult for me, my husband helps me with them. When I am tired, he also helps," she said.

"When I am exhausted, I take care of myself, do my hobbies, or even go out and spend time with my female friends."

Her husband, Mustafa Amin, told SBS Arabic24: "My wife is making a great effort. I help her with the laundry, and my children clean the house, and I also buy the house's necessities. There is no easy solution to the problem, but understanding is the key."
My wife is making a great effort. I help her with the laundry, and my children clean the house, and I also buy the house's necessities.
Mustafa Amin
According to Rola Abu Ghazaleh, a psychological counsellor and family relations expert, working women always felt some degree of guilt.

"A working woman should take a break if she feels tired and exhausted. She should tell herself 'I cannot do this anymore'," Ms Abu Ghazaleh said.
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Roula Abou Ghazaleh
She told SBS Arabic24: "The working woman suffers from a feeling of neglect of herself, her children or her home. This feeling is experienced by many women in our society. The working woman works as if she has no children because she works hard and forgets even to take care of herself."

"Balancing between work and her role as a mother is very difficult. She feels guilty and does not enjoy life and always tries to accomplish many things at the same time.

"She works like a robot and does not think about herself. She always has a feeling of guilt towards her children, home, friends, work and herself. She has a feeling It just doesn't go far enough. Acknowledge that you're stressed and face the pressure so you can deal with it."

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