The Boy Child Matters Too: Fostering Balance in Empowerment

For years now, most of us have joined the women empowerment movement for women across the globe. Today, people call themselves feminists and so on because they’re advocating for the girl child. Equal rights and opportunities as men is something women haven’t had for ages. Gone were the days when all we knew was that women belonged in the kitchen and they needed to do was get married, bear children and take care of the home.

But today, women are doing more than just these. Just today, Ghana gained its first female vice president and this should tell you how far this fight has gone and the impact it has had on women. I’m all for women empowerment because as a woman, I would hate to be denied opportunities just because I am deemed unfit because I’m a woman. No one would like to be in such a position so, empowering women is really a good move.

Now, let’s take a look away from women and the girl child for a second. As we are empowering our women and girl children, what about our boy children and men? Do we just throw them out the window or assume they can find their way around things because they’re men? Where I come from, men are supposed to know it all. I don’t know who made these rules but they say men don’t cry, men don’t express emotions and so on. But let’s not forget that men are also humans.

I’ve personally seen how much trouble and emotional rollercoasters our men and boy children go through on the daily bases. As all attention is now focused on the girl child, the boy child is left alone to figure out this life thing. There’s so much pressure on the boy children such that they don’t even know who they are at a point. But we forget that life has no manual. Today, if I should walk into a job interview with a guy with the same qualifications as myself, I’m most definitely going to get a job because I’m a woman. This means, the boy child has to work twice as hard as the girl child now.

My worry now is with the boy child. Have we forgotten about them because we are too focused on a movement to empower women. Our boy children are suffering, truth be told. They can’t open up, show emotion or even get opportunities anymore. So, who’s to show up for our boy children if we are all running towards the girl child. Personally, I believe that at the point we have reached today, we need to find a balance between things. We need to be able to empower both the boy and girl child on any normal day. We need a future where everyone can contribute to the good of our world at large and not just one gender making the moves.

So, I guess this is a wake up call to parents, teachers, leaders and whoever plays a role in shaping the future. Don’t forget about the boy child because they also matter. Hold their hands through this journey and let’s watch our world flourish by the day.

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all images belong to me.

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