Paul Kariuki: Is the boy child lost in neglect?
Young men at a spot near Frere Town in Kisimani, Nyali. Such locations, also know as 'Maeneo', are common with drug users.
What you need to know:
- Based on merit, women are increasingly taking spaces that were seen as the preserve of men.
- Employers insist on jobseekers having the required skills.
It is 10a.m on a weekday. A group of young men are seated in front of a wines and spirits outlet somewhere in a fast-growing area in Nakuru County.
When a familiar face approaches, you can see a young man jump up, engage the approaching passer-by in a small talk that ends with the young man begging something for a 'kanusu' or half a bottle of liquor.
The young man will point at his throat, indicating its parched, and in need of something to quench its thirst. Similarly, the hands will make motions, where a half-clenched hand moving from right to left like slicing in the air indicates something in half.
Across where the six men are seated, a frenzy of activities are ongoing at a construction site. Among the casuals are few women joining strength with men where a residential block is taking shape.
This writer asks the young men why they're not staking luck at the site and make a decent income instead of reducing themselves to beggars and their answers are near universal.
"Kwa mjei kama huna connections sahau hiyo (if you've no connections, forget about getting work at construction sites)," one tells me.
The reason they laze about from early morning is to see if someone would hire them for any task that would promise something at the end of the day. But as the day grows old, they become disillusioned and to nurse their frustrations, they'll drink anything liquor even if it's substandard sold through the backdoor.
The writer then moves to the construction site to have the input of the foreman, who proves to be an amiable guy in his late 40s.
"It is not that I cannot do with the skills of those young guys wasting away. There are no job openings here unless they're skilled in other departments. As you're aware, these masons bring their own hands – men and women," he says.
He goes to further state that the five women at the site have proved their mettle. "The women will put their families first when they're paid, unlike the young men whose first stop on payday will be a liquor house."
He adds that before part of the construction crew reports to work, some men knock at the backdoor of bars or wines and spirits shops that have mushroomed in the area to 'unlock' the previous day hangover and sneak again during lunchtime break to 'recharge', which he says is worrying as on payday, they have to settle debts first.
That women are increasingly taking spaces that were seen as the preserve of men is not in contention. At a welding and fabrication business nearby, a woman is working in sync with two young men in making door and window frames. The trio are in black overalls. The owner, a Mr Samuel Kinyanjui, is busy supervising and tells this writer that they're working round the clock to deliver a client's order by the close of business.
"As you can see, the lady is showing competence like the two male hires. I hired her based on merit and not on her gender," he says.
Mary Wanjiru is a graduate teacher but has never landed a teaching career. She works as a tout for matatus plying the Nakuru town-Ol Kalao township route.
"Being in a male-dominated field can be challenging. Many have this notion that a lady is a sex object and when a male passenger or fellow crew member asks for your number, you realise they have ill-motives," she says.
She had been in the sector for close to a decade and believes women are not lesser beings and can challenge males in any field any day.
To Patrick Ng'ang'a, a young church minister and advocate for the boy child empowerment, there is a sad trend where the girl child is being prioritised over the boy child.
"Look at the trend everywhere. Walk into a restaurant and the ratio of female to male employees is high. Same in front offices of many organisations. The boy child is increasingly being replaced by the girl child," he says.
He notes that it is not surprising that many young men are taking to the bottle to address their frustrations as career opportunities diminish by the day.
"A lady will knock at a stranger's door and say she's looking for work as a mama fua (cleaner) and will get it. What about the boy child? He'll be looked at suspiciously like a thug on a rendezvous scouting mission even when he's a desperate case looking for anything to provide for his family with," he observes.
The question is, is the girl child slowly displacing the boy child from roles that are or were perceived as a domain of the males?
