I come from one of the most patriarchal communities in Kenya, the Maasai. One of the most diverse and well moraled community. I deeply appreciate my culture and upbringing and all that it has taught me as a person. With some of the things that we have integrated into our culture like education and different kinds of religions, unfortunately we still lag behind in gender equality.
Women are still viewed as “objects” of the man. Some women are still subjected to things like FGM, early marriages and are not allowed to own property.
I strongly believe that for us to corellate in a very peaceful way, the men of today should let go of that past believe and ebrace equality. Even as we do our different roles, we should be complimenting each other and not viewing one gender as lesser that the other. Because that’s what is causing a lot of toxic femininity, because I believe that when the woman’s voice is heard and respected, then we will not have and any of this clashes that we are experiencing every day.
May we learn to respect one another and live in harmony.
Simaloi Toimasi
