MANY things happen in this funny world, and people often accept or believe them without knowing the root cause or questioning the reasoning behind such things. They join those who believe or have accepted such beliefs, wrongly or rightly.
One such belief system is the notion in some parts of the world that male children are superior to females and so, men prefer to have male children over female children.
A recent case is that of a divorce-seeking woman, Temilade Rasheed, who told a Mapo Grade A Customary Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, that her husband Adeboye Rasheed abandoned her for giving birth to three girls.
Temilade, in her testimony, while seeking dissolution of the marriage, urged the Court to grant her application for divorce, saying, “My In-laws are pushing my estranged husband to leave me for producing three girls and one boy”, she said.
‘’My lord, Rasheed no longer loves me because I gave birth to three girls. After my girls were born, he threw me out like garbage and married another wife “. She continued “The only one Rasheed caters for is my fourth child who is a male’’ adding that her husband has turned her into a punching bag.
Yes, cases abound in this country and elsewhere where men are not happy when their wives give birth to female children and some men behave as if it is taboo to give birth to a girl-child. Also, there are reported cases where husbands abandon their wives in hospitals or maternity centres.
The pertinent question is: Why do men prefer male children to the female child? Is it justifiable in any way? Has science proved that males are better than females in any way, apart from some unverifiable and primordial suppositions?
Generally, each child is important to a parent but in most African cultures, a male child is treated superior to the female one. They are given more privileges like education, inheritance and so many others.
Also, if the father is deceased, or unavailable, the first son in many African cultures has the right of inheritance. The male child also has the right to share the benefits of the family. Furthermore, some African traditions believe the first son is the pillar of the family.
It is also explained by the existence of patriarchal models, discriminatory interpretation of religion and specific factors such as economic contribution, support in old age, continuity and perpetuation of the family line, inheritance laws and performance of religious duties.
Thus, the birth of a male child is welcome more than that of a girl child because of the traditional notion that boys will grow up to look after their parents while the girl will be married to an outside home.
Also, in the greater part of Nigeria, male children are more preferably than female children because they believe that the more males a woman bears, it determines the source of income the family will get as the male son will eventually give back to their foundation, while females go out into another households to drop their wealth. Likewise, the family name is carried off into other families.
Again, African society is largely patriarchal and male children are seen as family pride and honour and signify strength in their homes. It is also believed that the male child helps to keep the name of the father alive for generations.
However, this importance attached to a male child and how the female child is considered inferior is a sad reality from culture. There are instances where the females showed more concern and affection for their parents than the males. There are families where the female folks are more educated and carry the family names far more than the males.
One of our respondents, a businessman, Mr Jenkins Okon, said the push for male children can lead to a lot of things. He said the desideration of a male child has resulted in some African fathers pressurising their wives to have more children, while some men ignorantly abandon their wives and children in cases where the wife only give birth to female children, they will marry a second or third wife in search for a male child.
Another respondent, a retired nurse, said a few literate men know what determines the sex of a child scientifically and make no fuss over it. She explained that men determine the sex of a baby depending on whether their sperm is carrying an X or Y chromosome.
She said an X chromosome combines with the mother’s X chromosome to make a baby girl (XX) and a Y chromosome will combine with the mother to make a boy (XY), adding that the sex of an individual is determined by the type of the male gamete (X or Y)Â which fuses with the X chromosomes of the female. Hence, it is incorrect to blame a woman for the gender of the child.
However, things are changing fast as a result of civilization or otherwise. The women are fast moving up and living up to expectations going by the saying that ‘’whatever a man can do, a woman can equally do.’’ There is no doubt that the Nigerian woman is as strong as the man in education, politics, commerce and other aspects of life, and there is no need to prefer or discriminate between male and female.
