Gender discrimination was consolidated across the African continent during the colonial era. Women were seen as the inferior group and male dominance was at its peak. Women were considered very fragile and emotional and incapable of making major decisions. This subjected them to a lot of abuses and criticisms because they were voiceless. There was gender inequality, boys had the privilege of going to school while girls were deprived the right to education. There was a notion in the past that “the place of a woman is in the kitchen” and as soon as they got to their puberty stage, they were given out for marriage and in most cases, girls were forced into these marriages. In the 20^th century and early years of the 21^st century, some women were still denied education and certain positions in society.

Fortunately, the rise of education has cleared certain notions about women. Several campaigns have been launched to create the awareness of girl child education, gender equality and campaign against domestic violence and sexual abuse. Now, the rate of girl child education has risen and women are now given the opportunity to occupy high positions in society and domestic violence, especially against women is gradually decreasing. All these have been achieved because women are now given the attention and significance they deserve.

In recent times, there have been a lot of women organizations and feminists who continue to fight for the rights of women but in so doing , boys are being overlooked or neglected. There are many young boys out there who are not able to afford an education even though some of them desperately want to be educated. They do not get the necessary support as compared to the support girls receive currently.  They are equally victims to physical and sexual abuses just like girls. But we live in a society where it is believed that bravery is a major trait of a man. He should be able to endure tough and difficult situations .And when a man shows emotions, he is termed as a “weak man”.  We should not forget that men are humans, they equally have emotions and they get hurt but are not allowed to talk about it because they might be criticized or ridiculed. Due to this notion, many boys have kept their problems and emotions to themselves and this has affected them even in their adulthood.

Parents and society should equally give attention to the boy child because just like the girl child, he is also subjected to abuse. There are evil people out there who harm children regardless of their gender. Therefore, in campaigning for the education and safety of the girl child, the boy child should equally be considered. 

#myperspective

A man shared his experience on social media about how he was sexually abused as a kid. Below are the images of his post: