Separation of family members

Especially in developing countries, members of a family (particularly the husband) leave the rest of the family in the rural areas to subsist on peasant agriculture in order to be able to work in the towns or on mines. In some parts of Africa as many as 2 rural families in 5 are headed by women. Husbands may visit occasionally if at all, leaving the women trapped in a work pattern of up to 13 to 14 hours a day.