By Collins Simiyu
Amidst the global celebration of International Boy Child’s Day on May 16 every year, the narrative of neglect and disparity emerges. While strides have been made in safeguarding girl child rights, the plight of boys remains overlooked. Facing domestic violence, educational hurdles, and societal stigma, many boys struggle silently, lacking the support systems crucial for their development. It’s time to shift the focus towards empowering Kenya’s boy child for a more equitable future.
The world celebrates international boy child’s day to emphasise on their rights, avoidance of any kind of harassment, driven away from domestic violence and given proper care at home environment. It is clear that the current society is at a higher point of maximum protection of girl child without bothering the development of a boy child.
Many boys undergo a lot of domestic violence which results to them dropping out of school and cutting off their mutual relationship with family members and friends. They ends up looking for non-education required jobs in cities and towns but some choses to live as street children where they undergo alot of problems and some faces great danger in case of a disease outbreak since they might not know prevention measures.
A boy child is just a normal person like a girl child but incase a boy is sodomized, the case will end faster than when a girl is raped where it is treated with alot of seriousness and great measures are taken. The accuser will be seen as a mad person. When you visit our law courts, files of rape cases are pilled heavily but it is not possible to find a case about a boy who was sodomized. Or, is it that boys are not recognized in the society?
Nowadays, education opportunities are given equally among all children. Their is no where that boys are allowed to learn more than girls or vice versa. So, to empower the future generation, these issues of over lying on ladies and seeing them as weak creatures should stop. Even women can work in construction sites and assigned simple tasks and at the end of the day, they can have a good money to take care of children.
The government of Kenya and other well-wishers and non-governmental organizations should now start thinking how they can empower boys at puberty age. It is seen that they only focuses on girls by providing sanitary towels and other materials but forgets to carry something motivation to boys. Also, many boys undergoes depression and has no one to tell whatever he is passing across. So as to tackle this issue, it is good to offer life skills education especially in boys’ schools. By doing this, we might be saving a good number of our youths.
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