The Sunday Mail
Beloved Marange
I HAIL from a mountainous part of the country called Shurugwi in the Midlands province.
Today, I have a piece of advice for fellow girls around the country. I need them to pay attention.
First, let us prioritise education before anything else.
As girls, we need to stand up and be counted.
Gone are the days when we lived in the shadows of men.
A lot of evil is taking place in society and many girls have been affected and fallen by the wayside.
There is need for girls to take precautions to avoid falling prey to sexual predators. We are our own liberators against sexual harassment and early pregnancies.
Education is crucial in winning this battle.
Several young girls dropped out of school, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown, and found themselves in unplanned marriages.
But a woman without property, money or a qualification mostly struggles in marriage.
Unlike in the past, women are no longer only supposed to bear children while their husbands go to work to support the family.
Both men and women now have equal rights.
May the girl child study hard to achieve the highest possible qualification and make the family and nation proud. Time lost shall never be recovered. Being a mother and wife at a tender age is an unbearable burden.
But no one drives us into that pit of misery except ourselves.
May all girl children in this country take heed and keep a safe distance from men until the right time.
Girls and everyone else also need to stay away from drugs and substance abuse.
Remember, tomorrow’s flowers are today’s seeds. Are we those seeds? If not, where shall tomorrow’s flowers come from?
Beloved Marange is a Form One learner at Munashe Private High School in Mutoko
