The untrained Man.
This piece targets the societal norm of exempting men and boys from household chores and responsibilities, perpetuating gender bias and entitlement. It highlights the need for balanced parenting and socialization to promote equality and responsible individuals.
HE IS A MAN:So he should be left untrained right????
It was a sunny afternoon ,I watched from my veranda as two little girls age between 10 and 13 were trekking back home,bucket on head directly from the public borehole.
They were drenched with the water dripping from the bucket on their heads.
I watched them take turns ,going tro and fro trying to fill the water drums at home.
The sun was not a good partner to them ,sweat moving down their faces in trinkles.
Mama Halima,their mother appeared at the doorway calling one of the girls,hurry up Halima,drop that bucket and go get me tomatoes from that old woman down the street.
I watched the little girl's reaction closely,her face was scrunched up in dissatisfaction and just before I could conclude my analysis.
She blurted out in anger at her mum,
"Haba Mummy,Khalid has not done anything today ,he has been sleeping".
Her mum picked up a nearby slippers at hurled it at her.
"Stupid girl,will you leave here now before I open my eyes.
Khalid is a man ,you are a woman .
Do you expect him to do house chores?".
It was like someone sprayed pepper spray in the air.
My blood boiled within me and I rose to enter my room.
I had a lot to say but I had to keep it all in.
Now ,how old was Khalid????
Khalid was their elder brother ,a little above 16.
He is the most lazy teenager I know ,lacks manners,very unkempt ,he can't even stand up for his siblings when necessary.
The only thing he gets to do is to sit back like a king and watch everyone run around like puppets.
And lastly,the mum or dad never sees anything wrong with this.
After all he is a man!!!!!!
Now my emphasis is,we all know most of the leadership positions in the society today are governed by men.
We have them as fathers,husbands and potential suitors.
Now,can we balance things properly because these sets of untrained or neglected ones still have to end up with our trained and precious darlings(females).
We invest energy to bring them up properly only to end up in wrong hands.
I tell you for free,it's an ANOMALY.
Parents and future parents,I hope we learn to balance things between both genders.
PS:I am not a feminist,I am just an observer who saw something wrong and said it.
Oluwaseyi Michael is a change maker and a writer.