Online Reporter
Fadzayi Maposah
Correspondent
Some jokes are not particularly funny.
At times when people say something, some are just ready to laugh.
The laugh can be so mean that it simply breaks the heart. We do not go around wearing our hearts on our sleeves, but many are broken, with many little scars that make them weak. I have always wondered why it is that when one is hurt, they will look down?
Is it because the hurt should not just be visible on their face, and when one hangs their head, they do not want their hurt to be seen, so that they cannot be hurt again when the one attacking sees the spots left.
That is one of the reasons that, after all the things that life throws at us, we are never the same. We all walk with a limp somehow. The limp may not be visible to everyone because not all of them are physical. Some of us are limping emotionally, or even socially.
Kurauone (grow up and see) is such a loaded word. Adult life may not be what we thought it would be, but hey, that is how we are supposed to live.
Occasionally, the child within each of us will escape and want to take over, allowing us to rest from being adults. The reality is, we are now adults and have to stay in that lane.
When we advise young people to enjoy being young and not rush to adulthood, they think that we are preventing them from experiencing the benefits of adulthood.
We are only protecting them from the occupational hazards of adulthood. When they are fully grown, they will realise that it would have been much better to stay in the children’s bays.
There are so many jokes about wishing to be a baby again. Babies do not need to stay awake at night trying to see which option is appropriate at a particular time.
I looked up the definition of joke so that we were reading from the same page. A joke is a humorous remark intended to provoke laughter and amusement. It can be a short story, an amusing anecdote, or even a prank.
When we were young and all gathered at my grandmother’s, we would step on each other’s toes, and someone could prank their relative (we were all relatives, gathered at one place). Some of us were my grandmother’s grandchildren. It would be my siblings and I, and our cousins.
There would also be our other relatives from the Chigiya family, from which my grandmother came. Her nieces and nephews, as well as her cousins, would be with us. As long as the person was a Chigiya, they were either a sekuru or ambuya.
My grandmother, Mbuya vaMaMoyo, would always be upset if someone reported that a lot of teasing was going on.
Her simple question would be: “Ko iye sei asiri kuseka kana zviri kumufadza?” Loosely translated, it means so why isn’t she laughing if it makes her happy?
That question alone was enough to teach us that as long as someone was not laughing, it meant that the joke was not mutual.
I thought of Mbuya vaMaMoyo this week as I ended up joining a discussion (which is something that I do quite often, though cautiously). I need to start by asking a question: why is it that when women do something daring in spaces that used to be male-dominated, it is called empowerment, yet when men opt to go into spaces that have been female-dominated, it is considered a weakness?
I have seen women become truck drivers and applauded their courage and determination to break new ground.
The discussion was on why men choose to be nurses. Strange, you may think.
So the people in the discussion were against men becoming nurses, saying it was a profession that should be set aside for women, and the participation of males was like an invasion of female space.
As one who knows excellent male nurses, I was a bit upset. I informed them that I know male nurses who were very skilled at their job, such that some female patients come and request that they attend them.
This week, when planning a men’s health awareness campaign, a colleague and I agreed that it would have been wonderful to have an all-male team to attend to the clients, allowing them to have man-to-man conversations and relate to issues as men.
For issues that may seem sensitive to share with a woman, the men would be more at home discussing with another man. The aim of the campaign, which is now scheduled for next week, is to improve men’s health-seeking behaviour and ensure that men take full control of their health. Now, who better to help these men than fellow men who are already in the healthcare sector, including nurses?
I hate to burst the bubble, but at times, society tends to disempower men when they seek help. There are spaces where men should receive services, but they hesitate when they think that they may not be received well.
They withdraw to their cocoons. It is still Men’s Health Month. Men are being encouraged to get health information and improve their well-being. Then the crazy jokes hit, and the men feel that they are not welcome.
They ask a few questions and may never return. There are jokes about having received love potions or being so afraid of their wife that they need a card from the clinic showing they have indeed participated in the men’s health month activities.
Do you see any men laughing? If not, it is not funny. Allow them to seek services in peace, this month and in the months to come!
Day 326 out of 365 of 2025#Men’s Health
