The African Girl Child

Africa, a land blessed with many inhabitants and vast natural resources, happens to be one of the least developed continents in the world, the most religious and superstitious, and tribalistic race in the world. In majority families across the African continent (in ancient times) the girl child only played the role of housewife who does chores, gives birth to as many children as her husband wants, cooks and washes the dishes as well as the dirty clothes of her husband and children. Put differently, the African girl child was referred to as 'kitchen material' by some, as a tool for reproduction and continuation of the human race by some, sex object by some, an extreme loyalist without a voice by some, and a combination of all these traits by others (the majority). The African girl child got these roles due to the preference attached to the male child by the society. The boy child would get proper education to any level he desired or his parent could afford while the girl child was stuck in the kitchen helping the mother prepare meals for the family to eat. The position of the girl child was as a result of a belief that a girl child cannot be productive and would, on default, return to the kitchen after gaining education to cook for her husband who might not be educated and bears the burden of providing for his family. This, ultimately, led to the African girl child marrying early or being forced to marry an aged man against her will as long as they could afford her bride price and, hence, relief her parent of the responsibility of taking care of her.
The African girl child was not meant to participate in public meetings neither was she allowed to speak when present unless she was permitted by the men present. She had no voice or, in other words, her voice was too weak to be recognized or contribute to pressing matters. She was timid.
When the African girl child got employed it was for what were seen as easy roles or lower sectors of the establishment in which she could not be a part of the decision makers; she was merely a decision taker. Working, on its own, was a great opportunity given to her. The African girl child was weak in proffering solutions to problems that needed intellectual reasoning; of course she was not educated to do so.
The African girl child was not also given a chance in the political sphere of the continent as political positions were strictly for men who were the educated gender and the decision makers. It was born from the family in which the man was the sole decision maker and whatever he said stood. To this effect, the African girl child could not be given any political position nor allowed to vie for one because she would become the decision maker and the men would be seen as her equal or even below her (decision takers).
In the beautiful and entertaining world of sports, the physical attributes of the African girl child and her roles in the kitchen and the entire household meant she was not allowed to participate. Her physique was a weakness as the boy child was naturally stronger and fitter than the girl child. Parents too would not allow the African girl child participate in sports in order for them not to get injured and increase their spending and/or reduce the possibility of getting a good suitor for marriage.
In recent times though, the African girl child has been exposed to formal education and has improved her strengths from her previous level. Gender activists, globalization, development targets of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), etc, has ensured the African girl child gets this improvement. She has recorded many achievements in the categories mentioned earlier and more. The African girl child who was seen as a domestic tool has grown to be a managing director as well as the chief executive officer of establishments across the continent. She has become a decision maker too and a vital unit in the growth of her establishments. The African girl child has also become head of ministries, member of the Senate and a representative of her people, a president, a footballer, etc. The African girl child has made laudable contributions to the current standing of the African continent.
The African girl child, despite not having 'equality' with the boy child yet, has learnt to be independent, choose a career and pursue it diligently, and even become the bread winner of her family. She has achieved this by seeking for a better placement in the family and society and the undying urge to be a positive voice that brings about growth to her family, community, and the African continent at large. Seeing how far she has come and her contributions this far combined with the huge hole still present in Africa's development chase, the African girl child will, undoubtedly, do more and, together with her male counterparts, lead the African continent to a developed continent as well as a model to other continents.
God bless the African girl child!
God bless Africa!