Black Consciousness icon Steve Biko put it best: ”Black man, you are on your own.”
In an era that was less gender sensitive than our present one, Biko’s message was for black human beings rather just than the male species.
But 27 years after his death and 10 years into the non-racial and non-sexist democracy he laid down his life for, his words ring a literal rather than a figurative truth.
For example, have you ever wondered why each time you read a report about a car hijacking you imagine a group of young black males? To hell with political correctness — they are the ones more likely than any other demographic group to hijack you. Our jails bear testimony to this reality.
Too many township boys still believe that if they have no talent at playing soccer or music, then they are doomed to the crumbs life has to offer.
Which is why I believe that for all their merits, campaigns such as those whose aim is to empower girls to view the world as their oyster can only be half measures if they ignore that apartheid subjugation was based on the twin pillars of race and gender.
It is not difficult to understand the rationale behind projects aimed at empowering young women in general and black ones in particular. Black women have been on the lowest rung of the social ladder.
In many cases girls are discouraged from having dreams or furthering their education.
According to those who study these things, men still hold sway in the workplace. They have an inclination to hire other men unless legislation forces their hand.
That said, a social powder keg is being loaded each time we ignore that the situation of black urban and rural boys is not enviable either.
For many of these boys hopelessness persists. They, like their sisters who are now being empowered, live in desperate times. The clichÃ