When my sister sat her form four certificate exams in 2004, she had reached where many did not imagine she would make when, at 28 and with two kids, she decided to return to school. A divorcee, the brave lady shoved aside her hair piece and slid into the primary school uniforms to share a parade square with her son, then 11, and attend classes being taught by teachers who had, a decade earlier, shared a classroom with her. The painstaking effort and ability to withstand ridicule in the village meant Felister Cherotich Cheison was taking the setback in her stride. When she sat her class eight and came top of her class, a neighbour was so incensed that she beat up her son with insults of "how could you let a grandmother like me defeat you?". Yet Ms Cheison had shown the village that she was not a grandmother, but a mother with grand ideas!
When the Daily Nation reported in March 2004 that she had done marvelous at Moi Girls High School, Eldoret, I could not help shading tears of joy from afar here in China. For yet I supported her during her education and even secured the guarantee of a friend to pay for her fees while I pursued my doctorate, I had least expected the result. Not that I doubted her ability. NO. But surely, at 32, she was arguably the oldest regular student in any formal schooling in Kenya. She did not disappoint! Felister is of small built, which doesn't betray her history. She could hardly be noticed by her classmates to be older than them let alone that she was a divorcee, and a mother to boot.
One lesson I learnt from the story of my sister is the vulnerability of the girl-child. I realised how insecure my daughter was except if she had a career and thought that Ms Cheison should serve as a inspiring role model for girls. Granted, when the urgency of a husband, even those village idlers who run away with your girl, bites a woman, she is not easy to convince otherwise. But look at how many women live in regret thereafter. My sister lived with her husband for 10 years, and thereafter the man hightailed to live with another woman. This is a story that is repeated over and over again in Africa. A man is experimenting with a woman, then he vanishes to start over again. In his wake he leaves fatherless children and woman that is soon to be rejected by the in-laws. If there was ever a way to secure the life of a woman, it must surely to ensure economic independence. Education, being the only equaliser, is the only asset any family can bestow the girlchild. Like the story of my sister startled me to the reality that my daughter is exposed and insecure, Felister's future is definitely secured in her success academically. So, too, is my family's future. For with her sucess, one heavy burden is roled from our shoulders. But how many more girls out there are being married of in their teenage years and without the option of escaping from the condemnation that family and society is driving them into?
As the adage goes, "Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a generation"
When the Daily Nation reported in March 2004 that she had done marvelous at Moi Girls High School, Eldoret, I could not help shading tears of joy from afar here in China. For yet I supported her during her education and even secured the guarantee of a friend to pay for her fees while I pursued my doctorate, I had least expected the result. Not that I doubted her ability. NO. But surely, at 32, she was arguably the oldest regular student in any formal schooling in Kenya. She did not disappoint! Felister is of small built, which doesn't betray her history. She could hardly be noticed by her classmates to be older than them let alone that she was a divorcee, and a mother to boot.
One lesson I learnt from the story of my sister is the vulnerability of the girl-child. I realised how insecure my daughter was except if she had a career and thought that Ms Cheison should serve as a inspiring role model for girls. Granted, when the urgency of a husband, even those village idlers who run away with your girl, bites a woman, she is not easy to convince otherwise. But look at how many women live in regret thereafter. My sister lived with her husband for 10 years, and thereafter the man hightailed to live with another woman. This is a story that is repeated over and over again in Africa. A man is experimenting with a woman, then he vanishes to start over again. In his wake he leaves fatherless children and woman that is soon to be rejected by the in-laws. If there was ever a way to secure the life of a woman, it must surely to ensure economic independence. Education, being the only equaliser, is the only asset any family can bestow the girlchild. Like the story of my sister startled me to the reality that my daughter is exposed and insecure, Felister's future is definitely secured in her success academically. So, too, is my family's future. For with her sucess, one heavy burden is roled from our shoulders. But how many more girls out there are being married of in their teenage years and without the option of escaping from the condemnation that family and society is driving them into?
As the adage goes, "Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a generation"
No comments:
Post a Comment