The issue of gender discrimination and inequality is no longer breaking news as it is believed that everyone is already familiarized with the topic.

But in this piece I'll be highlighting a segment of the conversation that every one seems to have ignored!

The male gender which plays a pivotal role in the development and progress of the society has been undermined as a result of the increased hype and hustle over the female gender as a result of heinous crimes committed by seemingly mindless individuals against this gender forgetting that criminal tendencies are not particular to any gender but are based on the individual's background,mindset, upbringing and other intrinsic and extrinsic factors!!

Now this piece isn't centered on just crimes or criminal activities against either gender but to give a holistic and detailed eye opening excerpt on the subject matter which by the way is the marginalization of the male gender and the deprivation they face in a volatile female oriented world.

Now to proceed with this, we must first understand what the male gender is in order for us to further understand any other thing to be discussed here.

Biologically, A male or man is a human being possessing the male reproductive organ and other features which clearly distinguishes him from the female.

Societally, A male is a biological male who carries the burden of providing for the family, protecting the family, ensuring continuity of the human specie in his reproductive capacity, Leading the family and making critical decisions where and when necessary, He serves as a role model for the infants and younger ones and in most cases acts as an emotional support for the female in whatever capacity she functions in his life.

Now we can all agree that these are really heavy roles the male has to play in the society and as such must be properly groomed in order to carry out these responsibilities to the best they can possibly be carried out and to avoid dereliction and mediocre execution of these duties.

But in a scenario whereby the male gender is neglected and is depraved of the basic care and attention required to foster the upbringing of a responsible adult basically because all the attention is diverted to the female with the believe that the males are strong and "can handle themselves" and should know the right things to do, these males will obviously end up growing up with the wrong values picked up from their peers, social media influence, unhealthy media content and other contributory vices that ensure the destruction of the morality and sense of responsibility of these individuals.

Now let's go a bit into statistics.

What are the exact statistics of the total percentage of men on earth compared to women?

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, as of mid-2023:

- The estimated total population of the world is approximately 8.06 billion people.

- The sex ratio at birth is not 1:1, but rather 105 boys per 100 girls, due to biological factors.

- However, due to higher mortality rates among males, the sex ratio evens out, and eventually, women outnumber men.

So here's the breakdown:

- Total population: 8,063,000,000 (100%)

- Men: 4,023,000,000 (49.9%)

- Women: 4,040,000,000 (50.1%)

So, women make up approximately 50.1% of the global population, while men make up around 49.9%. The difference is relatively small, but women outnumber men by about 17 million.

N.B: Keep in mind that these numbers are estimates and may vary slightly depending on the source.

So in essence there are approximately 17 million more females than males on earth.

Where am I going with this?

Out of the 4.23 Billion males we have on earth.... How many of them fall under the ages of 5 to 20? (I'm using this age gap because every form of mental and behavioral development in a growing individual whether male or female takes place within this age range.)

Now according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, as of mid-2023:

- Total male population: 4,023,000,000

- Males aged 5-19 (inclusive): approximately 1,243,000,000

Breaking it down further:

- Males aged 5-9: 443,000,000

- Males aged 10-14: 434,000,000

- Males aged 15-19: 366,000,000

So, around 30.9% of the total male population, or approximately 1.24 billion males, fall within the age range of 5 to 20.

Here's a rough estimate of the distribution:

- 5-9 years: 11% of total males

- 10-14 years: 10.8% of total males

- 15-19 years: 9.1% of total males

N.B: Keep in mind again that these numbers are estimates and may vary slightly depending on the source.

Now with this information, we can see that a large number of males are still in their developmental stage and are in need of all the love, care, mentorship and attention they could possibly get at this point to help them grow and develop themselves to the point where they can function as useful and responsible individuals in the society.

But we all forget to pay attention to these ones and they are neglected because of the traditional African feeling that males can handle themselves and don't need assistance.

But in a social media influenced and oriented world and in the absence of the proper guidance and mentorship the lacuna is filled by unwholesome and unhealthy influence and information from the social media and peers or older irresponsible males.

The "Train up a child in the way he should go" paradigm is a heavily stressed biblical concept postulated in the book of Proverbs 22:6 which states and I quote: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it"

This scripture reiterates the importance of proper guidance and the role it plays in shaping the behavioral and moral attributes of these individuals when they turn adults.

Sadly, In the African setting we tend to have forgotten this very important tenet of individual behavioral modification and unfoldment when it comes to the male gender and thrown all the focus on the female.

A literal example is how ladies are given curfews at home, disciplined when they are caught with the opposite gender, given intensive social media monitoring (in some homes) but the guys are left free to roam about when they like, come back home when they like, speak to whomever they choose to without any form of monitoring or supervisory limitation and generally abandoned to do their thing without any form of interference or monitoring.

They pick up social vices on the way and parents play ignorant because "he's a boy... He'll straighten up when the time is right" forgetting that when you sow wind, you reap whirlwind.

When these boys finally get into trouble, you then hear comments like "oh you've put me to shame", "you've forgotten the home training I gave you", "you're a disgrace!!"

A disgrace to what if I may ask?

What home training??

The one you failed to render by leaving them to their own devices?

I mean it all starts with a "Come over to my place let's play P.S"

Then it's "do you smoke?"

And he's like "no"

And then they're like "mummy's boy"

And the male instinct of conquest gets triggered and he takes a puff.

It doesn't hurt that once and so he becomes an addict, he's neck deep in this and before you know it he's introduced to other vices like pornography, womanizing and the rest and all these would obviously be kept secret from the parents.

But then and again if we look at this fastidiously it's not really a secret now is it? Because it's not even properly covered up, It's just the parent's lack of attention that helps conceal the ludicrous frailty and allows him carry on with his stupidity which in turn leads him to further destruction and then he delves deep into this path until he can no longer be controlled.

And then we ask ourselves "where did we go wrong?"

We went wrong when we neglected this gender with the assertion that a female causing harm is more of a disgrace than a male doing the exact thing!

Females who are promiscuous are a disgrace but males who do so are having fun?

What a shame!!

Now in the midst of all this the entire focus is shifted to the female gender making the majority of them sit up as a result of societal prejudices as it's quite clear that the society does not support female misbehavior.

I'm not saying they don't misbehave, I'm saying most of them have a limit due to the conventional notion of females having to be upright and decent.

Having established this it is also pertinent to note that some parents have actually gotten it right in the pursuit of morality and decency in the upbringing of their male children and you will seldom see such children misbehaving or behaving out of the normal.

In the same vein, Some parents have also messed up with the upbringing of their female children so at this point it's not attributed to a particular gender but a societal notion that needs to be changed!

Male inclusivity must be prioritized in order to put an end to the menace of young males causing a nuisance to the society.

I believe with the right amount of attention and care the male gender will be geared towards a better behavioral conduct.

That being said, It is pertinent to note that males are not the only ones committing heinous crimes and that females do so as well but then due to another eminent societal prejudice stemming from the marginalization and mutilation of the female gender in the past, the male gender seems to be more prosecuted and left in the spotlight as the society still seems to be of the notion that all men are beasts and are capable of anything and the ladies are the victims.

But then there are records of females committing very nefarious and egregious crimes and the society, still beholding them as the victims and weaker gender tends to downplay the austerity of these crimes which is in direct contrast to the reaction that is expelled when a male commits such crimes.

Examples of such female miscreants include:

1. Nwachi Onye, also known as "The Queen of the Underworld", she was a notorious female armed robber who terrorized the southeastern region of Nigeria in the 1990s.

2. Chinyere Igwe, a former female banker, she was convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to death in 2011.

3. Rosemary Okeke, a female politician who was accused of conspiring to murder her husband in 2014.

4. Folashade Olukoyede, a female lawyer who was arrested for allegedly murdering her husband in 2019.

5. Maryam Sanda, the daughter of a former Aso Savings Bank boss, she was convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to death in 2020.

6. Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-level student of the University of Lagos who was arrested for allegedly murdering the CEO of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, in 2021.

To cure this patent societal conundrum it is advised that equal attention be payed to both genders and that the society embraces male inclusivity and ensures that the male gender is given adequate attention and scrutiny in order to foster optimal behavioral and moral improvement.

In street language we say:

"No be only one person get pikin"

This simply means that the society at large has to put hands together in training the younger ones to help raise the moral standard and ensure a refined male breed in years to come.