Editorial Truth on age and marriageShe has done so not just by taking a husband 42 years her junior, but being thoroughly pleased with herself when the social norms suggest that she should be hanging her head in mortification. But this is not just the story of a 67-year-old lonely widow reaching out in search of affection and attention. It is a mirror to society and its values about age, sex and marriage. In our African traditions, a 67-year-old woman is supposed to have retired not only from work but from life. Hers is a sad, in the case of widows, lonely game of waiting for death; a dependent and basically useless existence. But these are the values of a young population, a society made up of young people whose outlook in life is basically ageist: That it is only the young, energetic and beautiful who have a right to happiness and life. As Kenyans discuss and pass judgment on Wambui and her young husband, their eye must stray to the clock: Our population must age, there will increasingly be more affluent and liberal people in their 60s and 70s. These are independent people who want to retire from neither work nor life. Equally, society is hypocritically sexist. When an elderly man marries a young girl, the eyebrow is only ironically raised. In truth, the man is the object of his agemates' secret admiration and the younger men's jealousy, but rarely is the union regarded as repulsive or unnatural. Is it really sustainable to have one rule for men and another for women? At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own views. Just like Wambui and her husband have a right to live their lives in a fashion of their own choosing. |
|
Front Page | News | Comment | Letters | Sports | Cutting Edge | Feedback |
Want to chat instantly with your online friends?�Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger
