Male edifice crumbles as women rise

• Males have been the dominant gender since the dawn of mankind. But for the first time in human history, that is changing with astonishing speed.
• Women have entered virtually all spheres of life that were once considered male domains, and research shows that women are performing even better.
• From academics to employment and even in business, women are the new trail blazers. Are we seeing the last of men as the dominant figures in society?

Ms Judith Ng’endo wants a baby. She has a well-paying job and, at 27, she feels she is ready to start a family. But her ideal family does not include a husband.

Though she has a boyfriend with whom she goes out sometimes, she abhors the thought of marriage. She is not planning to adopt either. Instead, she wants a man who will father her child on a no-strings-attached agreement.

“Divorce rates are discouraging, and I detest the idea of submitting myself to another person. I honestly don’t think a marriage would last. In any case, why would I need a man if I can provide for myself and my child?”

The (un)lucky man must agree to her terms. “No involvement in my baby’s life whatsoever. He will be more like a sperm donor, and that’s it”.

Cultural norm

A few years ago, such a thought would have been unimaginable. Upon completing her college education, society expected the “model” girl to get a job and then a suitable man with whom to settle down in marriage. But these are indeed different times.

Women in general are increasingly defying cultural norms and, in the process, are challenging men’s traditional dominance in African society. For example, not long ago, single motherhood was frowned upon by society, but now it seems to have become a fad among employed urban women.

The man, the traditional head of the family unit, is fast fading into oblivion. However, this phenomenon is not confined to the family setting. The changing dynamics in the family are just one manifestation of what sociologists claim is the crumbling of the male edifice.

The male has been the dominant gender since the dawn of the human race. But, for the first time in history, this is changing with shocking speed. Women have entered virtually all spheres of life that were once considered male domains, and research shows they are even performing better.

The traditional symbols of power no longer belong to men alone. More and more women are acquiring cars, businesses, land and high-end jobs that men once believed to be their preserve.

Adopting the roles

On the other hand, men appear to remain static amidst these changes with cultural norms preventing them from adopting the roles played by women to balance the equation.

Is the end of men as we have known them beckoning?

“Maybe not quite so now, but we are surely on the way to that road,” says Ms Susan Choge, a lecturer at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology who has done research on changing social trends. “In many ways, the old order in which men had almost the final say in economic and political matters is crumbling and being moulded in ways that put women at an advantage.”

So bewildering is this new development that Dr Peter Kiarie Njoroge, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi who specialises in African traditional religion, worries that the trend could portend the extinction of mankind itself. “This is a very sad day when we are discussing war between men and women. What it reflects is that we have abandoned our traditional religious understanding. It is beyond comprehension.”

The rise of women is a global phenomenon. For the first time in US history, women became the majority in employment in 2010 and more than 50 per cent of top and middle-level managerial positions are now held by women according to US Bureau of Labour Statistics.

The power shift is even clearer in Nordic countries where women now hold the top political positions in Norway and Sweden. Earlier in 2009, neighbouring Iceland took it a step further by electing an openly declared lesbian its prime minister.

Statistics are hard to come by in Kenya since little research has been done on the issue here. But a casual observation of the socio-economic and political dynamics captures a gradual shift in power from patriarchy to matriarchy.