EDITORIAL: Are Men Afraid of successful women?

By: The Editor-in-chief

The last one week has seen our email and WhatsApp inboxes teeming with questions and comments suggesting that men are naturally afraid of successful women. For clarity sake, the word “successful” in this context has been used to express women’s financial independence and level of education attained. The general consensus in the comments and questions received, show that men are afraid or simply not interested in marrying well-to-do women. We however hold a completely different view on this matter of great social importance.

It is in our belief that men in general are not afraid of settling down with successful women. At the same time, we acknowledge the fact that most men are not interested in living on a woman’s financial providence. This is because when some women attain financial independence, they tend to think they are equal or even way above a man, at least in the context of African socio-cultural norms.

Respect for a man is often than not suspended while they lose that feminine energy that distinguishes women from men. It is no secret that most men hate that as it undermines inherent family leadership roles vested in them. Most interesting are different ways in which men express disapproval of women with zero feminine energy.

We are highly opinionated that this is what the majority classify as fear of well-to-do women. To us, men don’t fear successful women but rather disapprove of their tendency to overlook gender power. Maybe we should come alive to the fact that financial independence and education attained do not in any way suspend gender power shared between the male and female genders. This is because gender power derives from culture, societal norms and religious beliefs, which determine power balance between men and women.

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Ollus Ndhomu

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