Opinion / Columnist
Empower the girl child through education
30 Jun 2018 at 15:32hrs | Views
Some of our traditions and customs have left the girl child in catch-22 situations. It has long been viewed as correct and acceptable for a married man to flirt around with his wife's young sister.
In some cases, even the elder sister can 'play house' with her brother-in-law. Sometimes statutory and outright rape is committed right under the nose of the wife, a case of see and talk no evil.
Many girls have dropped out of school having fallen victim to the practice of 'playing chiramu' with sister's husband. Mother-in-laws sometimes encourage the flirtations by dispatching the budding girl to go and stay with the newly weds under the guise of assisting with household chores.
The improved proximity to the little girl puts the husband to great temptations that he fails to resist. Remember this is a young girl still confused with puberty and whose fecundity is at its apex. Restraining the two is like mating elephants, it has to be done with a lot of shouting and stone-throwing. In the end its pregnancy and end of school.
In extreme cases, the wife loses her husband to her 'hot' sibling, with some becoming suicidal. Why do we keep such customs and traditions? If the country's constitution can be amended why not let go some unsavoury customs?
Send girls to school not to stay with 'babamukuru', what for? If you educate the girl child you educate a nation.
Tondorindo Murisa. Chinehasha.
In some cases, even the elder sister can 'play house' with her brother-in-law. Sometimes statutory and outright rape is committed right under the nose of the wife, a case of see and talk no evil.
Many girls have dropped out of school having fallen victim to the practice of 'playing chiramu' with sister's husband. Mother-in-laws sometimes encourage the flirtations by dispatching the budding girl to go and stay with the newly weds under the guise of assisting with household chores.
The improved proximity to the little girl puts the husband to great temptations that he fails to resist. Remember this is a young girl still confused with puberty and whose fecundity is at its apex. Restraining the two is like mating elephants, it has to be done with a lot of shouting and stone-throwing. In the end its pregnancy and end of school.
In extreme cases, the wife loses her husband to her 'hot' sibling, with some becoming suicidal. Why do we keep such customs and traditions? If the country's constitution can be amended why not let go some unsavoury customs?
Send girls to school not to stay with 'babamukuru', what for? If you educate the girl child you educate a nation.
Tondorindo Murisa. Chinehasha.
Source - Tondorindo Murisa
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