KaberaWrites

Marriage has been a universally acknowledged phenomenon that unites two people in love; and I must add that if all factors are kept constant, marriage is a beautiful thing.   Unfortunately, the definition of marriage has been tampered with over the years by archaic and misogynistic perceptions that have been passed down generations. One must recognize the fact that the meaning of marriage varies according to sex; in other words, girls and boys right from childhood are taught to see marriage differently. Since time immemorial, society has had it inculcated into the minds of all females that they can take all the paths that they want to as long as they keep in mind that they are bound to get married. We live in a patriarchy where people are taught that women can be all they want as long as it doesn’t draw too much attention towards them because God forbid a woman is more successful than a man. People want women to live within a box they have created for them. Any woman that choos...

ELIYA   The apartments I live in are maintained by an old man who we refer to as 'Mzee' to mean 'elder'. No one knows his real name or where he comes from. What we do know is that Mzee comes very early in the morning to weed the compound, sweep the dried leaves and occasionally  trim the grass.  Mzee has a young son of about five years named Elias but the locals around call him 'Eliya'. Eliya's mother is a mad woman named Rita who lives under the staircase and talks to herself all day. The gossips say Mzee bewitched her. This trio is no stranger to poverty and the harsh word economy that has no time to think about them. During the few years I have lived here, I have grown fond of  Eliya. Eliya having been raised in a in very different family is by all means a different child. Eliya wears a tattered red t-shirt under his dirty orange jumper and a pair of greenish-brown shorts. Sometimes he has shoes on and other times he doesn't. Eliya plays with t...