Are Kenyan men on the road to emancipation?

June 7th, 2009

 

By RASNA WARAH,

 

IN RECENT WEEKS, KENYAN men have been getting international media attention for all the wrong reasons. First there was the husband who took the G-10 — the women’s lobby group that called for a sex boycott — to court for causing him immense psychological stress after his wife heeded to their call.

Then last week, Njoka Ndiritu, founder of the Maendeleo ya Wanaume organisation, claimed that a survey his organisation conducted showed that more than 1.5 million Kenyan men suffered domestic violence daily.

If this is, indeed, true, and the survey was conducted using tried-and-tested scientific methods, then Kenyans have a reason to be alarmed. Domestic violence — whether inflicted on men or women — is not something to be taken lightly. It has severe physical, social and psychological consequences.

But when you read between the lines, it is clear that Mr Ndiritu’s definition of domestic abuse and violence is not in tune with commonly accepted definitions. For instance, in a radio interview, he claimed that many Kenyan men have lost the right to decide how many children they sire, and that a large proportion of men in the country were now cooking, cleaning and baby-sitting — activities he considers to be forms of domestic abuse.

Cartoonist Gado was spot on when he suggested in a cartoon last week that the men’s organisation is not fighting domestic violence per se, but is up in arms over the fact that Kenyan men are exhibiting traits associated with liberated men — that is, they don’t mind helping with the housework or looking after their own children.

In other words, the organisation wants men to reclaim their so-called right to beat women and not do housework. If, indeed, Kenyan men are doing more domestic chores and are more involved in their children’s lives, then they need to be congratulated.

They certainly need not be pitied. If the survey is to be believed, then Kenyan men are trailblazers in the war against sexism, and for this they deserve an award. However, it is unlikely that Kenyan men have somehow bucked the trend and emerged as among the most liberated in Africa.

The idea that women rule the roost is evidently not borne out by statistics, which show that one in five women in sub-Saharan Africa does not even have the final say in deciding what food to cook. In most African countries, women have absolutely no say over important decisions, such as how many children to have.

DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SU-rveys — the most authoritative surveys conducted worldwide — show that between 1999 and 2005, more than half of the married women in sub-Saharan Africa had absolutely no say over decisions regarding their own healthcare. African women also have little say over daily household purchases.
Moreover, more than 40 per cent of married women in the region reported that they were not allowed to visit relatives when they chose to.

If women in this part of the world do not have the right to decide whether or not to seek medical attention, it is highly unlikely that they are in a position to dictate to their husbands on other matters, such as who will wash the dishes or baby-sit. The surveys further showed that married women’s voicelessness was not a worldwide phenomenon. Married women in countries such as China, Indonesia and Malaysia are among the most emancipated in the developing world.

A large proportion of married women in these countries not only make final decisions regarding their own healthcare, they also do not have to ask their spouses for permission to visit relatives. Lack of decision-making power among women has serious consequences. When women have little or no say in their own healthcare, they cannot make important decisions about the number of children they should have or whether or not to use contraception.

In extreme cases, it may also mean that they are unlikely to get medical treatment when they need it, and are therefore vulnerable to early death. Women’s lack of decision-making powers in other areas concerning the household, including their children, also means they are unable to control whether or not their children go to school or receive adequate nutrition.

If Maendeleo ya Wanaume wants to be relevant in the 21st century, it must change its tactics and call for the emancipation of Kenyan men from restrictive gender-based roles that do not allow them to express their emotions or to be caring husbands and fathers. And this includes encouraging men to do domestic chores so they can be good role models for their sons.

Ms Warah is an editor with the UN. The views expressed here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations.

source.nation.ke