In the ever sensitive girl child world, it has reached a point where the boy has been neglected completely. Let’s face it we’ve all heard of ‘save the girl child’, ‘the girl child network’ and other numerous girl child programs that have come up not only in the nation but in the world at large. We even have a day for the girl child dubbed International day of the Girl celebrated 11th October every year but hey what about the boy child, aren’t we as much important as the girl child? Just to be clear, I am not against these efforts raised by the society in supporting more opportunity for girls; my argument is that the society must also realize in the new diverse world the boy child is becoming an endangered species. Come to think of it, despite having a more female population in the country, places such as prisons, party clubs, bars and rehabilitation
Just to be clear, I am not against these efforts raised by the society in supporting more opportunity for girls; my argument is that the society must also realize in the new diverse world the boy child also faces adversity. The boy child is growing into something the society is not proud of and we as the society are to blame. He has been left in neglect and has turned to other devious means in addressing his problems. The boy child faces immense pressure in life. The boy child shoulders great expectations while little is done in ensuring his upbringing is safe and sound. He is expected to be a provider and a protector while he has been abandoned thus turning to alcohol and drugs to escape his problems. In the modern society there are several additions that are draining the time and money of the Kenyan boy:
Alcohol : The statistics behind alcohol abuse among the youth in Kenya is shocking. According to a survey done by NACADA in 2012 it shows that 13.3% of Kenyans currently consume alcohol. NACADA estimates that half of this number are persons aged between 10 and 19 years old and at the helm behind these figures is the male child.
Cannabis : Bhang smoking is popular among youths at the universities and the slums in Kenya. A drug peddler in one of the local universities on average sells about 35-50 blunts of marijuana on a daily basis. He admits most (if not all) of his customers are male students around that campus.
Gaming : Have you ever been to a gaming zone on a Thursday afternoon? Located in the CBD, these joints are usually jam-packed with ‘dem boyz’ leaving little or no space at all. Spending time in these dens, the young men of Kenya have little to no time to plan and work towards bettering their future.
In the modern society, the boy child is just as vulnerable as the girl child and empowerment of the girl child should not be at the expense of the boy child. It’s time the society and the government steps up to address these issues affecting young men.
This article was written by Anthony Waweru.
