By Innocent Ngare
If you take a random sample of ten women under the age of 25, and asked them what they sought in life, I’m certain that all of them would tell you that all they want is the “good” life. Seven would tell you that all they want is to be rich and famous. And five would tell you that they are prepared to do anything to be rich and famous.
Now, find out from the same sample what they think constitutes a good life. Most of them will tell you that a good life is designer fashion, trips abroad, eating in lavish restaurants, throwing exclusive parties, and driving luxury cars. This -right here- is the value system that informs the decisions our daughters make today.
The truth is, we have derogated from the fundamental values that once informed our existence. Like patience, hardword, persistence, and family. Our daughters grow up in a society where they are constantly bombarded by a culture of consumerism made worse by the glorification of a “do-whatever-it-takes-to-make-it” mindset.
They find themselves in a society where the Vera Sidika’s and Zari Hassan’s of this world are idolized. The consequences are disturbing. When I wake up, the first thing I look up is the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. When my sister wakes up, the first thing she looks up is Zari’s Instagram Page. She finds n
inspiration in the shoes Zari is wearing, the designer clothes, the cars, the lavishness of it all.
They crave this life so much, they can spend hours on end talking about it. But Zari and Sidika do not just show them the latest Gucci designer handbag, they also offer them a quick methodology towards getting that first pair of Louis Vuitton heels. Get a rich sponsor and let him lavish you with gifts in exchange for your dignity.
A society that glorifies the sponsor culture, a society which tells young Girls that it is okay to trade your dignity for a handbag or a pair of heels is a sick society. And we are all responsible for this rot in out collective existence. Today, young women talk about sleeping with rich older men for money without a care in the world. It’s cool, hippie, and trendy. When they say they can sleep with both father and son provided they get what they want, they are ot playing games. They mean it.
Now they are being murdered because of this culture. Do parents sit down with their daughters and teach them about the virtues of patience? That it is okay to wait, build your life slowly and solidly, and one day buy the Louis Vuitton? That there is nothing wrong with your friends heading to Zanzibar for the weekend as you study for your course? That you should never trade you dignity for anything?
If you don’t, and you’re a parent, take cue from Sharon Otieno’s unfortunate end.
