SEM. ROBERT BIGABWARUGABA: The cry of boy child empowerment 

As I pondered the wisdom of Dr. Imelda Tamwesigire’s book, “The Extinction of Mister Daddy,” I couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency. The statistics are alarming: while we’ve made significant strides in promoting girl child education, the boy child has been left behind. Sr. Galdys Kachope, a seasoned Head Teacher at Immaculate Heart Girls School Nyakibale, aptly puts it, “We’ve lifted the girl child, but we’ve forgotten the boy child, who will be her partner in life.” This neglect, my friends, is a recipe for disaster.
Today everyone is expected to be in the front to support all activities geared towards developing the girl child but again we would like our children to have equal opportunities and none of them should feel neglected, neither intimidated or discriminated. We want our children from both genders to know that they are both equal before man and God. We should all join hands and support for better future wives and husbands. We should empower the boy child to strengthen the future fathers.

It is sad that the boy child has to choose his own future and chart his course without much guidance from the society. This neglect is noticed. In his bid to find his bearing, the boy child has now turned to vices such as drugs and substance abuse, sexual abuse and dropping out of school. The boy child is going to be no more just like the white rhinos in Africa if empowerment programmes continue to neglect the boy-child and out of frustration will push him to underground criminal activities.

As the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Our habit of neglecting the boy child will have far-reaching consequences. The distinction between the two genders is becoming increasingly blurred, and this, my friends, is a future war. John Samuel Mbiti, a renowned African philosopher, once said, “I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am.” The boy child is an integral part of our collective identity, and neglecting him will have devastating effects on our communities.

The statistics are stark: single motherhood is on the rise, and broken families are becoming the norm. Women, empowered by their newfound independence, are increasingly opting out of traditional family structures. While this may seem like a victory for women’s rights, it’s a Pyrrhic victory at best. The exclusion of men from leadership roles has created a power vacuum at home and in society. “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). We need to recognize that men and women are complementary, not mutually exclusive.

By empowering the boy child, we’re not only cultivating responsible fathers and husbands but also restoring balance to our society
The solution, my friends, is not to pity women against men but to create a balanced approach where both boys and girls are empowered to lead. We must recognize that empowering the boy child is not a zero-sum game, where one gender’s gain is another’s loss. Rather, it’s a win-win situation, where both genders grow strong, supportive, and united. As the African proverb goes, “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” Let us not forget the boy child, lest we suffer the consequences of a society out of balance.

Sem. Robert Bigabwarugaba
robertbigabwarugaba@gmail.com
St Paul’s National Seminary – Kinyamasika