On our PENLIT today, I shall be sharing with you an inspiring article by a young Nigerian who has a strong passion for younger generations. Harriet Akinrimisi, in her piece, is calling for a gender balance; not as equal rights, but equal upbringing, training and mental development.
It would be interesting to know that the writer is a young woman in her early twenties; a graduate of the University of Benin, Nigeria and a native of Ondo State.
Harriet is a young entrepreneur, agriculturist, and a preacher. According to her, she is passionate about impacting lives positively.
So, let us read this amazing piece that Harriet has shared with PENLIT.
There is a call for a balance between the boy child and the girl child. The girl child undergoes many training right from childhood. She is groomed to be a wife,a mother, a good woman, a business woman; and so many others so she has gone through mental developments. As she grows up, there are lots of women conferences, girl -child organisations, women empowerments and many more.
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The girl child rises up fast in any industry they find themselves in. All these make the women of this generation almost more financially and mentally independent; than the male-child. So there’s a great need to balance.
Society focuses so much on preparing the girl child for marriage; and they leave the male child unprepared. So we have the prepared female child and an unprepared male child thereby causing lots of divorces and broken homes in recent marriages.
As a girl-child is being groomed, the boy counterpart should also be placed on intensive societal/home training. Done properly, this will breach the imbalance.
Seminars for male gender shouldn’t start when they’re adults. Those same activities given to girls should be extended to the boys as they grow. In that way, they won’t grow up to see certain things; like home chores as gender roles relegated to the feminine gender – No.
PENLIT: A call for a gender balance by a young Nigerian
In ensuring balance, equality and equity, the girl child should be taught how to make money, such that she can be able, at all times, to take complete care of herself. Being wholly financially independent is a defensive weapon that keeps one from being used as a toy, available tool or prey in the hands of manipulators.
The boy child needs clarity and direction. There is a need for successful and succeeding men to hold the hands of these young lads and show them the way. Show them the dignity of labour, how to be faithful and honest, how to build lasting legacy.
The hands of these young boys are stretched hoping that a mentor, coach and or even some successful men would grab their hands and lead them in the path to becoming a better man.
The male child is still lagging behind, most of them have not been taught to accept women of this generation is different from the women of their father’s generation.
PENLIT: A call for a gender balance by a young Nigerian
Society and school teaches us that men go to work while women stay at home to do the house chores but things are not the same like before, both men and women go to work and also take care of the children, this is causing an issue because it is contrary to what society taught us.
I believe and wish for a nation where the boy child will be groomed and enlightened just like their counterpart, also have men
conference, organizations for the boy child, fathers seminar, men’s meeting and many others.
More so, men need to be taught to accept this generation of financially independent and courageous women. This, I believe would help facilitate a great balancing for both genders in the nearest future.
Writer: Harriet Ejoke Akinrimisi
Yes , as the girl child is groomed intensively to become a relevant person In the society
, The boy child should also go through same process