A NEGATIVE POSITIVE DREAM

“I want to become a lawyer when I grow up. I want to earn my own money and raise a family together with a husband who loves me.” Quite sensible and powerful words by a ten year old girl, after she was asked about her dreams and aspirations. This draws a perspective of where our society has failed.

Gone are the days when girls would grow up learning the perfect mannerisms so as to acquire a good husband to take care of her for life. Things have taken Drastic turns, which is a good thing am not complaining. The gender roles are not so defined anymore. The issue is the environment in which our girls grow in. An analysis on the dreams and aspirations of the girl quoted above is proof.

What would make a girl at the tender age of 10 want to earn her own money? A perfect guess is realization of the need.  A large percentage of Kenyan women are housewives. This is to say they depend on their husbands for their daily needs. By the time a girl attains understanding ageshe is able to see the dependency and suffice to say not like it. Most people will choose tom look at this situation as a positive motivator to the girl-not wanting to be like the mum. I negate this assumption. I t reduces the confidence they have in them bas mothers. To some it creates complacency that is why there is still a large number of girls dropping out of school. It is quite rare that a girl with an independent mother financially would choose to drop out of school to get married.

It is therefore in our best interest to empower women for the future which is these girls. We should all husbands, fathers and all involved allow the girls to grow up having a lot of trust and confidence in their mums. When they want to be professionals is to be just like their mums and not the other way.

Marriage is the other delicate situation that we all find ourselves in at some point. Until recently the rate of wife battering was enormous. Till today some still beat up their wives and those who don’t do things that suggest something contrary to love for the wife. When a man abandons a wife or is constantly mistreating her even without the physical abuse it creates that reality in the mind of a young girl witnessing. The increased number of single mothers is also an element. The girl with the mother will blame it on the dad for not sticking around, which in many cases is. That is why at that tender age she is hopeful of her husband who will love her. So our dear men just as the command is love your wife as Christ loved the church. I am positive we all don’t want to bring up a generation with a so not likeable opinion on marriage.

As we empower the girl child let us put into account all other factors that might gradually injure the faith and spirit of these girls in any way. I say ‘empower women to empower the girl the girl child’.