The plight of the boy child in the face of exclusion and neglect

By Thembelihle Mhlanga

“The neglect of the boy child by both policy and  society is manifesting itself in an increase of young boys who are engaging in illicit activities like excess consumption of drugs with some being recruited in selling these substances on the streets,” said Mr Permanent Sibanda, a sporting specialist based in Lupane.

Since the break of the twenty first century, a lot of emphasis has been placed on the protection, and support of the girl child, leaving the boychild vulnerable and unattended to. 

Sibanda further said, since the exclusion of the boy child in the empowerment agenda has contributed much to juvenile delinquency and vulnerability, there is need for fellow men to lobby for psychological and moral support for the boy child to bring him to sanity.
 

The Head of Programmes for Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) Zimbabwe, Patricia Mangoma said that her organisation’s intervention towards the education of the boy child is currently at ten percent as their emphasis is on the girl child. 

“It is unfortunate that we focus so much on the girl child and boys only constitute 10 percent of our beneficiaries in our child education intervention. Maybe with funds permitting, we can increase the number of boys,” said Mangoma.

The lack of support and protection for the boy child has also led to boys dropping out of school.
Statistics from the Matabeleland North Education Annual Report for 2017 indicate  enrollment for Lupane District as follows; Grade 1 had an enrollment of 12 777 boys and 12 237 girls but the number of boys at grade 7 dropped to 9 974 and 10 450 for girls. In form four the number sharply dropped further to 6 797 for boys and 7 977 for girls.

This may be an indication that boys lack support to complete school in comparison to their female counterparts.
Lupane East Member of Parliament, Honourable Mbongeni Dube said that there are several factors contributing to the dropping out of school of the boy child. He said in some families, if a boy completes grade 7, he is considered mature enough to fend for himself and the entire family. 

“One of the contributing factors is that some families perceive a boy who has completed grade 7 mature enough to fend for the family. He is then  hired out for cheap labour as a herd-boy and his meagre earnings must support the family,” said Hon Dube.

The MP added that the rise in gold panning activities has also seen young boys running away from school to venture into gold panning. By doing so, they are admired by their peers for their ability to bring goodies and wear fashionable clothing. Hon Dube said that this has caused young boys to migrate to areas where panning is prevalent.
 

The Headmen for Dandanda Ward Mthenjwa Sitshudini Khumalo said there are several organisations that work to advance the girl child’s empowerment in the community through interventions that support education and the well-being of the girl child which however is usually at the expensive of the boy child.

“The interventions by these organisations need to be looked into as they tend to focus on girls. The boys remain unsupported, they opt out of school and eventually get engaged as herd boys locally and in areas far away from their home,” said Khumalo.

Neglect by communities and poor law enforcement has also increased the boy child’s vulnerability.
A legal practitioner based in Hwange who requested anonymity said the situation is now worse for the boy child as laws and policies on the rights of the child are protecting girls more than the boy child.  

“The young boys also suffer the problem of non-protection by sexual offences laws as they become victims of older female sex predators, who sometimes face no litigation as these laws only sexual harassment being effected by male figures. As a result, the boys remain vulnerable to these sexual predators.” he said.

There is a serious need for concerted efforts to be made to salvage the boy child from total ruin through neglect. Affirmative action and gender equality initiatives by government, the corporate world, and social partners should be inclusive to attain balance. The legislation should protect the boy child and girl child equally.