International Boy Child Day.

Today is a day to celebrate the boy child. It is celebrated every year to create awareness to the boy child and their struggles.

Over time, the holiday has become less significant and people easily ignore the struggles of the boy child because he is expected to be strong and not show weakness in public.

I want to use this space to create awareness for the struggles of the boy child. We have been continuously subdued and expected to bottle our feelings because we are the ‘stronger’ gender.

• Stronger Gender

The male is expected to be the stronger gender. He is expected to provide, secure, protect and guide others both tne other gender and the younger male. He is expected to show strength in all moments. He is expected to hide every sign of weakness and emotions and yet, show emotional availability to his partner. There is no help for the male gender because it is a societal stereotype that the male child is the stronger gender and it is weak to depend on others.

It is not right that the male is expected to be at the forefront of major activities in society and there is no provision for him during period of weakness and lowness. He is expected to endure all forms of actions and not show any form of emotional instability.

The stereotype that the male child should withstand all issues thrown at him without response should be shunned at.

• Emotional Stability.

The Male Child is expected to bear the excesses of others while keeping his emotions inn check. He rarely gets checked on because he is expected to be able to weather any storm he passes without help. The male child also goes through rough patches emotionally but he is expected to be able to handle himself without showing physical outburst or issues.

The male child should be cared for more. He should be extended an hand of help and care when needed without being judged.

• Gender Equality.

The boy child, in some occasions, is not accorded their full extent of the law due to some superior beliefs which is majorly based on extreme belief in patriarchy. There are some situation in which the male child is always left to blame despite their innocence based on the belief that they are the stronger gender. If we are striving for gender equality then it should reflect in every aspect of life and should not be partiality stated.

The Male Child should be treated with more love and care and not neglected for the female gender under the belief that they are strong and can survive under harsher climes.

They should be accorded as much interest as in any other person.

The Boy Child is also a Child.

He should be celebrated.

In All, Stay Jiggy……