To be male
is biological; to be a man is by choice.
One cannot choose to be born a
man or woman but if one is born a man, there are certain attributes that are
expected from men.
Some men don’t really care how
they lead their lives. They live on the edge and their children have absolutely
nothing positive they can learn from them.
However, in this day and age, the world and in particular Africa is
crying out for the rare breed of men not men by biological definition to fix a
lot of things going wrong.
My definition of real men is that
they must be responsible, they must take charge, and they must lead and must be
an inspiration to the young generation. These must be men of impact who when
they arrive they offer solutions on how to make the world a better place, these
are men who when they pass on they are missed, these are men who enrich the
lives of those who come across them, these are men who don’t only say things
but do positive things, whether in their homes, workplaces or wherever they are
in the world.
For centuries men in Africa and
also in some other parts of the world have used tradition as a weapon of
oppression against women.
The real men I am talking about
here are:
- Men who are not threatened by their wives because they are more intelligent than them.
- Men who are not threatened by their wives because they earn more money than them.
- Men who support their spouses to reach their fullest potential in their endeavors.
- Men who are dependable.
- Men who actually open doors for their spouse and other women in general without expecting a reward of some kind.
Africa is in dire need of a new
generation of men who accept and embrace the notion that a woman has as much
rights as men to go after their dreams without societal prejudice.
Our President in Zimbabwe, His
Excellency, President Mugabe went against the grain and appointed Mrs. Joice
Mujuru as the first woman Vice-President.
In South Africa, Former President
Thabo Mbeki appointed Mrs. Phumzile Mlambo- Ngcuka as the first woman to hold
the position of Deputy President from 2005 to 2008. She was the highest ranking woman in the
history of South Africa.
In Britain, Mrs. Margaret
Thatcher was Prime Minister of Britain for quite some time and Britain
prospered under her leadership for some time.
In America Condoleezza Rice was
the first black Secretary of State and in her former position is now held by
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In Germany, there is Chancellor
Angela Merkel. Malawi has a female President Joyce Banda, Liberian President is
Saleef Johnson. Austrialian Prime Minister is a woman, Julia Eileen Gillard and
she is the first woman to hold such an office.
There are also powerful women CEO
such as Alison Cooper of Imperial Tobacco Group in the USA, Mrs Grace Muradzikwa,
Managing Director of NicozDiamond Insurance in Zimbabwe and others.
Don’t get me wrong here. These
and other women who have made it to the top did not do so on the benevolence of
their male counterparts, no, no, no. In fact they worked harder than their male
counterparts in order to prove that they were as good as their counterparts.
They were not handed those positions on silver plates. In some cases women have
proved to be better managers than men.
Although some African Governments
have made significant strides in supporting ambitious and capable women to
progress up the ladders whether in politics or in the board rooms, more still
needs to be done to remove gender prejudice.
We are now a long way from the
days when our fore fathers would refuse to educate the girl child simply
because she was a girl.
The real man knows that a child
is a child and it really doesn’t matter whether that child is male or female
and besides Children are a gift from God. And it refreshing to a child to know
that they can receive all the support they need, to become whatever it is they
would like to become.
If not for
us, let’s do it for our children.
