Recently when the KCPE results were released and the celebrations of those who topped dominated the news, it was evident the boy child was lagging behind. With only 4 boys being in the top 20, many claimed that the boy child has been neglected and this is what the KCPE results reflected. This was also confirmed with this week’s announcement of the results of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.
Over several decades, many have fought, cried and even been demonized for their belief of equality of the sexes and this fight was mainly for the girl child. Note, most world cultures, religions as well as biological composition have been used to make the girl child appear inferior when compared to the boy child. There has thus more concerted efforts to bring the girl child to be at par with their male counterpart. Misogynists have taken advantage of this and created a divide so large that some people believe there’s a fight for the greater gender.
On the other hand, we seem to have forgotten the boy child and opportunities as well as attention offered to them seem less. Cries and complains all over the nation are that the neglect of the boy child has led to an unseen child with fewer feats and more failures. A child on whom expectations are large and with a mixed-up notion of what he is expected to grow up to be; metrosexual or traditional version of a man. This has resulted in some hateful and ill-advised drives to liberate the boy child while undermining efforts made to equalize the genders.
Our existence is symbiotic. One cannot thrive without the other and when we see greatness, we shouldn’t be analyzing it in terms of gender but rather in terms of effort invested, as well as individual capabilities. Any child can be great if nurtured in the right way. If we respect our differences, cater to the needs of each child in a thoughtful way and value them equally, we can eliminate the issue of either the girl or boy child and have a generation that is supportive of each other and proud of its accomplishments. It’s sad that even in issues relating to relationships, marriage, work promotions as well as personal wealth among young people, we are launching gender based attacks on each other rather than trying to get to the success levels of the older generation. If we feel any child is neglected, we should fight for them in a just manner but not degrade one in order for the other to come on shine. Let’s strive for a succeeding child no matter their gender.
This article was written by Capital Campus Correspondent Maureen Njoki.
