Is it worrying that we as a society have been so fixated on empowering the girl child that we may have forgotten about the men in our lives?
The whole war about the girl child empowerment has been one that has been fought for by brave women and even men who desired to make this society equal for all genders. The likes of Women Empowerment in Kenya Organizatione. (WEIKE, an organization that pioneers the empowerment of women and girls in this country, UN Women, Plan international, and many more.
Truly they have done a wonderful job. All that said and done, there is a cause for concern when it comes to boys in the society. We may have neglected these men in a way just because we focused on making the voice of the girl heard. Do not get me wrong, the empowerment of the girl child was imperative, especially in this patriarchal society. However, what about our sons, our fathers, and our husbands? Shouldn’t we empower them too?
I had a sit down with one of my male friends and asked him whether he feels as though men have enough empowerment as women. His answer was no. straight up. Reasons? He argued that women have been given a lot of airtime in terms of funding with government funds like the women’s fund, mental health programs, political seats, human rights and protection, the works. He made a valid point in a way. Of course, society is patriarchal, so women have had to fight their way through, unlike men, who have heard society working for them from time immemorial. But to some extent, it does not add up. Today, you can imagine that it is very rare for a man to open up about their mental issues. You as a man dare open up about your struggles and see if society won’t judge you to your grave. That is why according to statistics, men are the highest percentage of the gender suffering from mental illnesses, more so depression.
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That is just the tip of the iceberg. My point is, we as a society should pay attention to both genders equally. That does not mean that we stop rooting for girl power. It means that as we root for girls, we also root for boys. When we root for women’s mental health, we also root for men’s mental health. Men’s successes are just as important as women’s. It is not as easy but it is what has to be done. Inevitably, we can only change society if we pay focus to all aspects.
The grass is not greener on the other side; it is greener where it is watered.
