A senior Education official in the Nyamira County government has cautioned against the culture of investing too many resources in support of the girl child empowerment initiatives at the expense of the boy child.
Nyamira Education and ICT County Executive Jones Omwenga told Education stakeholders drawn from all Subcounties who were at a Nyamira hotel that this culture was detrimental to the interests of the boy child.
Omwenga said there was need to focus on the welfare and development of the boy and girl child equally, in order to foster active participation and contribution by competent male and female adults who contribute towards community prosperity.
“As far as we are really looking into empowering the girl child, there is need for us to ensure that the boy child is also given the same opportunities,” he added.
He noted that the culture of overemphasizing support for initiatives bent to empower and protect girls in the last few decades has adversely suppressed the boy child’s self-esteem to an extent of having docile and passive male adults in the society.
The County Executive challenged leaders in all development sectors in the county and nationally to consider militating against gender bias in a bid to assist the boy child restore the suppressed self-trust and confidence to be able to reclaim their space and place in the society.
He further attributed social vices affecting families and the larger community today to empowerment of the girl child and sidelining the boy child, adding that many men had retreated and abandoned their responsibilities for the family and community level in protest.
Education stakeholders at a Nyamira hotel. They have cautioned against the culture of investing too many resources in support of the girl child empowerment initiatives at the expense of the boy child