EDITORIAL - Help our males

Our men need help!

When one observes the behaviour and performance of our men and women, over the years, there have been notable changes in society – whether academic, professional, or otherwise.

There was a time when men were expected to lead the household, the community, churches, organisations and countries. The women played a supportive role by taking care of the household, the children and the men in their lives. In recent decades, however, there has been a discernible change in the roles highlighted above. Women compete fiercely with men and often outshine them in terms of their education, vying for management positions, and other roles that were previously awarded solely to men.

Nowadays, having a female leader of a country is no longer as rare an event as when Indira Ghandi, Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto, Dame Nita Barrow, or more recently Angela Merkel broke the ‘glass ceiling’. Previously this concept would have been met with sheer criticism. Even the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, has broken barriers as a woman in such a powerful position. 

Men have to step up their game
Males of the younger generation now have to step up their game since they can no longer expect that certain positions will be handed to them.

Whereas men of previous generations might have been considered as eligible simply by having a good job, or driving a ‘nice’ vehicle or some other outward evidence of success, the bar has been raised significantly, and educational qualifications, soundness of character and other criteria play a far more important role when men are being assessed.

It is not unusual in the current social environment for the women in the relationship hold higher positions in the job market than their male counterparts. Women no longer have to depend on their men to provide the creature comforts they desire. They are in the position to support themselves and sometimes even their men if necessary.

The challenge for many men in this situation is that their egos and sense of masculinity sometimes make it impossible for them to recognise the change in the status quo. Unfortunately, in some cases, this difficulty is exacerbated by women who fail to acknowledge the sensitive nature of the man’s feelings, or further emasculate men by throwing the situation in their faces.

Consequently, many men, not knowing how to cope, have settled into a slump where they dress, act and perform sloppily because they are not motivated to make any effort.

So how do we proceed? We would urge parents to focus in greater detail on raising their children, especially males, to abandon the sense of entitlement that seems to be so prevalent among our youth. As it stands, in our tertiary institutions, more females than males are matriculating. Educators, as well as some in authority, have expressed concern over this development for some time.

Now is the time to focus on building the strength of character and self-worth of our males. They are vital to our society and our progress. Therefore, they should not be left behind.