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Happy International Boy-child Day!
May 16 is International Boy-child Day….
I have all three of my most beloved as sons…….no daughters……..
….and yet I have celebrated International Women’s Day religiously; even finding a way to adapt the celebration of this day in a female college in Saudi Arabia with the Motawa at our gates in March 2015!
A shame I got to know about an International day for the Boy-child on May 16, a few months ago.
…but it is not ever too late to seek the empowerment of the Boy-child by ‘celebrating the unique potential and contributions of boys while also acknowledging the challenges they face. It’s a day to encourage their growth, empower them, and foster a supportive environment where they can thrive.’
Interesting to read this during my research of the International Boy-child Day as indeed it is not any different from all I have championed in celebrating the Girl-child; International Women’s day on March 8 each year.
Interesting also to note that EMPOWERMENT is the key objective in celebrating this ‘International Boy-child day.’
This should in my opinion call for a re-visit of the true meaning of ‘EMPOWERMENT’ which has been the main objective of most ‘Girl-child’ agendum; and now, ‘Boy-child agendum.
As my research into a celebration of an international Boy-child took its turns and twists, I couldn’t help but wonder how utopian a world it would be if all the ‘International Day celebrations’ for boys, girls, men or women were amalgamated into one BIG International EVERYDAY celebration for the entire EVERYBODY!!
A celebration where everybody felt empowered……
An EVERYDAY celebration where the entire EVERYBODY’s empowerment was acknowledged, respected and celebrated.
Taking a moment to picture how this will go for families who beget communities that beget societies that beget nations, that then meaningfully encompass us all in our entirety, further research led me to the following summaries:
Women Empowerment: ‘Promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others.’
Children Empowerment: Girl-child; Boy-child: Allowing children to become stronger and more confident, against a backdrop of the cultural, traditional and religious environment of their heritage and taking responsibilities for their actions.
Men Empowerment: Building confidence and self-esteem in a manner that makes them better placed to be great family men and true leaders of their communities.
Inherent in the above process of EMPOWERMENT for each one of us will be the strength to make sound choices; the grace also to acknowledge and respect the EMPOWERMENT of one another-the end result of this only making each individual, boy, girl, man, and woman a better version of themselves…
As we add May 16 to all the International-Day celebrations already known and celebrated, perhaps it is time to make everyday a celebration of a Happy Humanity Day; a daily celebration of our own EMPOWERMENT; of other people’s EMPOWERMENT.
By Dzigbordi B-A