Nakuru based businessman and philanthropist Maina Wakabura has called on society to start thinking about the male gender and shun the stereotypes that have been there that male gender should be strong even when things seem tough.
In a statement on Wednesday June 19,2024, Wakabura who has been engaging in various charity works in society says for many years the male gender has been neglected leading to many young people suffering.
“One of the effectively enshrined stereotyping concerning the male gender is “Jikaze kimwanaume”, he said.
According to Wakabura, such tend to portray the male figure as a gender that should not show nor react to emotions, but in a real sense, “we are losing a community.”
He told of f the society over recent messages on Facebook during Fathersl’s Day.
He noted that a numerous messages on social were meant to portray male gender as irresponsible.
“Recently we celebrated Father’s Day, and most messages I saw online, came with a rejoinder of “to the fathers who showed up, to the fathers who decided not only to be dads and so on”. Well, to be honest, I have never seen such messages on International Women’s Day or Mother’s Day,” he said.
He noted that for daughters to be safe in the future, there is need to have an honest conversation about upcoming men now.
For society to grow and develop, Wakabura argues that there is need for men of integrity, men who are hopeful, diligent, compassionate, and optimistic in their endeavors.
He adds that men need to mentor the upcoming generation of men to be holistic in their self-care, have better communication skills, be authentic in their emotions, know their gender roles devoid of normalization of stereotyping, and have skills for community support.
“By doing this, we are creating a cohesive and resilient community,” he said.
