BBC Swahili tried to frame a stay-at-home dad article as if they have it worse than mom's the comments set them straight

Saturday, 8 July 2023

By: TB Obwoge

BBC news has many different versions, you would probably only know this as a person that either travels or lives outside of America (North America)

There is a BBC for several languages, even a BBC Africa which then breaks down into other languages spoken in Africa.

There is even a BBC Pidgin based in Nigerian pidgin mainly but Ghanians and other Africans have their versions of Pidgin. Since over 250 million people in Africa speak the language, including myself who murders it mostly.

BBC news is often trying to appeal to Africans, sometimes in ways that are annoying and harmful. Many Africans have noticed that BBC has used photos for African stories that sometimes tend to show Africa as slums. Another story BBC used photo, claiming it was Africa but after zooming in the number plates were from the United Kingdom. Others in the comments noticed this as well.

Pandering to Africans, BBC Africa is doing a series on Rap music and Hip Hop. Oddly though they're allowing Ghanians to claim that they created Rap, Hip Hop and even Reggae music. I wrote an article on another platform asking people if I was drunk, to think that Rap started in America by Black Americans.

New York City

Rap as a genre began at block parties in New York City in the early 1970s, when DJs began isolating the percussion breaks of funk, soul, and disco songs and extending them. MCs tasked with introducing the DJs and keeping the crowd energized would talk between songs, joking and generally interacting with the audience

Source: NPR

As Reggae started in Jamaica, I thought.

Jamaica

reggae, style of popular music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and quickly emerged as the country's dominant music. By the 1970s it had become an international style that was particularly popular in Britain, the United States, and Africa. It was widely perceived as a voice of the oppressed.

Source: Britannica

Why is BBC Africa running a special claiming that Ghanians started all these genres of music? I have no idea, possibly because like the world, they're always disrespecting what Black Americans have built and done for humanity. But they're always pandering to the largest group of people to grow their following.

Black Americans are only 12-13% of the American population, some 40-45 million humans. Even less is the Native American population, yes there are BBC news pages for both which are not popularly known or targeted very well.

BBC Africa though has a much larger following and is allowing Ghanians to call themselves aunties and mothers of Rap Music. I digress.

BBC Swahili tried to get the male Africans to come out in force, which as most know Africa doesn't need any more sexism. They posted an article about how difficult it was to be a "Stay At Home Father", it didn't go well in the comments section.

These comments are translated from Swahili (Kiswahili) into English via Facebook.

Keisi Ahuura

In Africa it is rare, around one in a thousand men leave their jobs for at least 8 months to raise children, compared to one in 3 women. This means that men who make that choice can be considered insane.

Humble Man David

Nowadays men do not stay at home, we wake up early to work, to look for money, above all to build the nation.

I have very many comments about what this Kenyan man said, I will pretend as if I'm not a Kenyan citizen or married to a Kenyan man, or that I don't read the Kenyan news daily.

This isn't true, women do much of the work and are rarely given credit. Due to sexism and lies from the current president there are less women holding political office than he promised during his campaign.

Dafroza Mbwambo

What makes them stay at home and struggle?

Peter Issangya

If I have children at home, I go through hardships and the radio is on, I cook for them and they are full, we start playing music, from there we play kombolela to look for each other, from there, we play football, from there we bathe, sleep for two hours, when they wake up, they study, eat and sleep.

Ester Davidi

That is called responsibilities.

Joseph Lule

what a woman can do, a man can do it better

Irene Marioh Nuru

What are they doing at home? Let them go and win at the betting offices there.

Naphtali Wakhungu

Those are not difficulties but responsibilities.

David Jeremiah

There is work.

The comments go on but most were from women who said that these are just responsibilities. Which is a normal part of being a parent. Men being at home in Africa might suffer some insults from their friends but this is also the time to mention this information.

Kenya Registers Increased Births By Single Mothers

The number of registered births by single mothers in Kenya has increased, an economic survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has shown.

The survey, which gives details of birth registration by marital status of the mother showed an increase in the number of single mothers, compared to the married ones from 2018 to 2022.

The proportion of registered births by married women decreased to 85.6 per cent in 2022 from 85.9 per cent in 2021, while the proportion of registered births by single mothers increased slightly to 13.9 per cent in 2022 from 13.5 per cent in 2021.

Among the registered births, 0.1 per cent were from divorced mothers, another 0.1 per cent from the widowed, while 0.3 per cent of the mothers did not state their marital status.

The survey also showed that the total number of registered births in Kenya also recorded a 1.8 percent increase from 1,138,654 in 2018 to 1,221,444 in 2022.

Source: Citizens Digital Kenya

Now would be the time to mention what Kenyans consider married. Several Kenyans living together claim that they are common law married. Several Kenyans have told me that they're married if they live in a home with a man for more than 30-90 days.

Also in Kenya, the Christian majority would judge a woman for saying they're not married. They don't ask for any proof as most Kenyans also claim to have had a "traditional wedding" which is not registered with the courts or the law. They cannot and do not get legal divorces because they have no legal marriages unless they filed it with the court.

Married in Kenya also includes polygamous marriages, where baby moms. side-chicks are considered by a large population of Kenyans are married.

There is a Kenyan MP named Karen Nyamu, who is the "baby momma" to Kenyan musician Samidoh is called his "WIFE!" She is not married legally that anyone knows but in Kenya's horrific Marriage Act a man can get married without ever notifying his wife.

Kenyans by the way are allowed to immigrate to the US where many marry for citizenship, while married to more than one woman. Abandoning American women to bring over their real families after they've become citizens. There is no law protecting Americans I've contacted immigration as I am married to a man with 3 wives after me.

Those are not difficulties but responsibilities.

This comment says it all, no matter what women have done this for centuries, no ones ever complaining. Men are not always sympathetic to mother's struggles. Thinking that staying home is like a relaxing vacation for women. It's not.

You would also think with polygamy there would be help from other wives, this is also not true. I will follow this up with a recent 2023 article outlining more issues that have come about because of the Kenyan practice of polygamy. Men often leave wives and never return, there is no need for them to get a divorce when they can happily move on to re-marry.

Leaving women with the large fees to pay for a divorce, which is why I'm still married to this day.

Thank you for reading, Please consider buying a coffee for Lacey's House efforts in Gender Equality & Children's Rights.

©️TB Obwoge 2023 All Rights Reserved