I am not a population control propagandist, and will therefore not complain about the high fertility rate of Rwandan women. I am in fact in for large families.

What surprises me however, is the growing number of young women who have children (but do not live with their children’s fathers).

I do not refer to women whose partners are dead. Granted, our mothers gave us food from the breast; changed pampers and saw us off to slumber land everyday leaving our fathers to armchair pleasure. In many situations in the home, the typical African father is mostly a remote parent.

This may now be leading young Rwandan women to believe that with a good job, a comfortable home and a devoted maid, one can make a family.

There are many roles which men alone are able to play well in the home. Rwanda is quickly becoming a country of absentee ‘landlords.’

Butare