First Word 40

Gentlemen can do better!

‘This business of you just filling your stomachs and leaving (the dining room) as if nothing has happened has to stop!’ our high school headmaster would warn us.

He had been irked by our tendency of leaving plates on tables after meals for the cooks to clean.

Considering that we were more than 600 students served by a team of four cooks, the school boss reasoned that it would have taken less than two minutes to clear the entire mess if each one of us did his or her part—wash his or her own plate.

And today, the more I try to reflect on what our school chief put across, the more I am convinced that…matters are still the same, somewhat – and some of us have not changed at all when it comes to responsibility.

Some men continue to put women in the family way. They then leave the woman to mind the business of carrying the weight alone, as if nothing has happened. They only re-appear later when the woman has exhausted every ounce of her blood to nurture the embryo into something.  Shamelessly, they then demand that he be given the title ‘’Baba P’’ or ‘’Baba Q’’.

Despite all the awareness and education on gender equity, our womenfolk are still suffocating under the weight of men; doing everything for the men in their lives, without getting even the simple ‘thank you’ token in return.

Men stay out till late into the night doing businesses – legal or illegal – as their spouses tend to the needs of the children. When they return to their houses or homes, they demand anything, from warm water for their aching muscles and steaming dishes to replenish their energy.

By this time our children are sound asleep and snoring, having been pampered by Mum, probably after taking over from Nanny who has been in charge of home affairs since Mum and dad left the house at dawn.

After having their fill, they hide under the sheets. They start snoring, a sign of contentment or fatigue. Nobody says any kind word, it is as if nothing has happened.

Of course not all men do this – so I am only referring to a specific breed.

Let us defend those surnames that are on the covers of our sons’ and daughters’ school books by being committed to their welfare – as Dads, in as much as Mums.

 

End. PG 40/03